


Growing Up Kinsella Style

by Ultra



Category: Hart of Dixie
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Awkward Conversations, Character Development, Children, Commitment, Developing Relationship, Eventual Romance, F/M, Family Drama, Family Dynamics, Family Feels, Father-Son Relationship, Friendship/Love, Getting Together, Growing Up, Help, Kissing, Literal Sleeping Together, Parenthood, Paternal Instinct, Responsibility, Season/Series 01, Single Parents, Surprises, Understanding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-14
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2020-01-13 05:29:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 29
Words: 75,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18462443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ultra/pseuds/Ultra
Summary: AU Season 1. If Wade and Zoe had just found a way to grow up and behave like adults a whole lot sooner, maybe it wouldn’t have taken so long for them to get their happy ending. So, what if something happened, way back near the beginning, to make them do exactly that?





	1. Chapter 1

Lavon Hayes was on his way out to feed Burt Reynolds when he thought he heard a noise. Tilting his head, he listened for it again and sure enough, there it was. If he didn’t know better, he would think there was a cat hollering somewhere, or maybe it was some other furry creature that had got itself stuck under the porch or some such. He really hoped whatever it was hadn’t gone by Burt Reynolds when he was hungry.

Taking a look around, it come as a real surprise when Lavon realised the strange crying sound was coming from a shady little spot under a bush close by the back door. What he found there when he looked closer was no cat nor possum or any such creature.

“No. No, no, no,” he intoned as he dropped the bucket containing his alligator’s lunch down onto the ground, removed his gloves, and stooped to pick up the baby seat instead. “Aw, hell, no,” he said at the sight of the child inside, clearly just now beginning to wake and feeling the need to cry about something. “Ssh, now. Ain’t no need for tears, little one,” he said, gently as he could.

Lavon turned a full circle, looking around for anyone who might have left the baby on his doorstep. Of course, there was nobody there, he hadn’t really expected there to be, but it was worth a shot.

“Okay then,” he said after a minute. “I guess you’re coming inside, kid, at least for now.”

The child seemed to have settled again by the time Lavon got the seat parked up on the kitchen counter. Peering in at the baby, the mayor thought he was probably dealing with a boy, since he was wearing a blue onesie. Not that it always meant anything, but folks around Bluebell did tend to be more the traditionalist kind.

“You a little man, huh, bubba?” he said, staring in at the child. “Well, either way, we need to look into finding out who your folks are, because one thing is for sure, Lavon Hayes ain’t your daddy,” he said, grinning some.

The baby fussed a little and then reached out to Lavon with one tiny hand.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance, sir,” he joked, shaking the baby’s hand with one finger and a thumb. “Well, you’re cute, I’ll give you that much.”

The cute went away a moment later when the kid stopped smiling and started fussing, then all out crying again.

“No, no, no,” said Lavon, panicking just a little. “Okay, okay. Uh, I got this,” he tried to tell himself, releasing the straps and lifting the baby from the seat, hoping more than believing he was holding him right as he attempted to soothe him.

It was some comfort to him that he wasn’t dealing with a newborn, though it did make it all the more strange to have found the kid right there on his doorstep. Lavon was not so great at judging the ages of children, but this little one was more likely a few months old than a few days, he reckoned.

“Come on now,” he said to the child, bouncing him in his arms and rubbing his back.

After a few moments, the crying stopped and Lavon grinned.

“Huh. I really do got this.”

“Hey, Lavon. Could I borrow your... _baby_?”

Zoe shook her head when she realised what she just said, and what she was seeing. She just came over to borrow Lavon’s car and now here he was, standing in the kitchen, with a baby in his arms. That was maybe the last thing she had been expecting.

“Lavon?” she said, edging closer. “Who is this?”

“Search me, Z,” he told her, shaking his head. “I mean, he’s cute as a button and apparently thinks I’m his new teddy bear,” he explained, hugging the child close, “but I ain’t a clue where he came from. Can you believe somebody left him outside my door?”

“What? That’s insane!” Zoe gasped. “Who does that?”

“Somebody desperate, I’m guessing, not knowing where else to turn, thought maybe the mayor’s doorstep was a safe place to leave their child?” Lavon mused.

“Well, yeah, I guess,” said Zoe, “but wouldn’t the church or even a doctor’s office make more sense? I’m not saying you’re not a great mayor, Lavon, but this is a little strange. Was there not even a note or anything?” she checked, poking around the baby seat to see if she could find anything.

“I don’t know, I only found him five minutes before you walked in.”

“A-ha!” said Zoe, having located a pocket on the back of the seat and produced a plastic folder from there.

She pulled out a couple of pieces of paper and began reading from the top sheet.

“‘I can’t believe I’m doing this but I just don’t have a choice. I guess I never was cut out to be a mother and now I have the chance to really make something of my life, I have to take it. Please understand and take care of him. CS.’ You know anybody named CS?” she asked Lavon.

“Nobody that’s comin’ instantly to mind,” Lavon considered. “What else you got there?”

Zoe looked at the next piece of paper and smiled.

“Ah, now we’re getting somewhere. Birth certificate,” she declared. “Okay, so baby’s name is John-Thomas Smith. Double-barrelled first names, how... Bluebellian,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Okay, mother’s name, Carrie-Sue Smith. Well, that explains CS,” she said thoughtfully before reading on. “Father’s name-”

“Hope you’re prepared to get your ass kicked at Wii Tennis, Lavon, because I am so ready for this!” said Wade as he burst in through the door, a six pack in his hand.

He stared wide-eyed at Lavon with the baby in his arms and Zoe in turn stared at him.

“What in the hell is goin’ on in here?” he asked, shaking his head.

“Um, Wade?” said Zoe carefully. “You might wanna sit down.”

“You feelin’ okay, doc?” he checked, tilting his head as he stared at her. “You look a little... weird.”

“And you’re about to _feel_ a little weird,” she countered, pushing him down onto a stool, then putting the baby’s birth certificate into his hand. “Father’s name,” she said, pointing at the correct part of the paper.

“What are you...?” Wade began to ask before his eyes found the words she was wanting him to see. “No way!”

“Way,” Zoe countered, turning to look at Lavon. “Father’s name, Wade Kinsella,” she confirmed before looking at Wade again. “Congratulations?”


	2. Chapter 2

“This is insane,” Wade said loudly, and not for the first time, as he paced the kitchen floor. “We’re talking off the chart, beyond crazy, insane.”

“You can keep saying that but it doesn’t make it any less true,” Zoe insisted, waving the birth certificate around some more. “This piece of paper says you’re a father, and you already admitted that you know Carrie-Sue Smith, so-”

“I said I _knew_ a Carrie-Sue Smith,” Wade reminded her, “but I haven’t seen her in more than a year.”

“Wow, you’re really bad at math,” Zoe told him. “Nine months for gestation, five and a half months since baby John-Thomas was born,” she explained, “which means conception would’ve taken place almost fifteen months ago. So, let me guess, the last you saw of Carrie-Sue was... late October 2010?”

Wade stopped pacing, sitting back down on the stool with a thud, his face turning pale. Zoe might almost have felt sorry for him, but the baby now screaming and crying from the next room was there because of what he had done, along with Carrie-Sue Smith apparently.

“She took off the day after Halloween,” he said, almost too quietly to be heard over the baby’s noise, and Zoe moved closer so she could be sure she caught any other information he shared. “We had something going over the summer, off and on, then at the Halloween party at the Rammer Jammer she tells me she’s heading out of town, that she got this opportunity. See, Carrie-Sue wanted to be a big-time actress someday. She could make it, I was pretty sure. Anyway, she, uh, she came back to the gatehouse for... for a goodbye kind of a thing,” Wade explained, rubbing the back of his neck, looking just about as uncomfortable as Zoe had ever seen him.

It was strange, he wasn’t usually so shy about his conquests, but then she supposed this was the first one that had ended in quite this way. Zoe turned to look when she heard what sounded like Lavon singing and the crying of the baby dying down. She had to admit she was a little impressed.

“This can’t be happening,” said Wade, running a hand over his face as Zoe looked at him again.

“Believe me, it can,” she told him, hopping up onto the stool nearest to him. “As your doctor, I feel it’s my duty to inform you that unprotected sex-”

“Doc, don’t, okay? Please, just don’t,” Wade told her, making a cutting motion in the air with both hands. “I am not takin’ a safe sex lesson from you, or from anybody else. I am not that dumb. I take precautions against... I take precautions,” he said definitely.

“Well, no method is 100% guaranteed except, you know, abstaining,” Zoe reminded him of what he should already know. “I’m guessing whatever was supposed to prevent a pregnancy didn’t entirely do its job.”

Wade nodded his head absently, clearly still trying to recover from the shock. Zoe knew she shouldn’t have any sympathy for the guy, but at the same time, she kind of couldn’t help it. Wade was a player, for lack of a better term, but as far as she could tell, he was pretty upfront about it. He was also a really good guy, in spite of everything.

Over the last few months, he had helped Zoe out of a jam so many times, really being there for her when she needed him, then at Christmastime he had actually asked her out. At least, Zoe thought that was what Wade had done. More than once in the last couple of weeks she wondered if she should ask him about it. Actually, more than once she wondered if she had made a mistake giving him a raincheck. Now she had to think maybe she made the right choice after all.

“Okay, I think we re-established some calm here,” said Lavon, wandering back into the kitchen with the baby in his arms, now quiet and mostly still.

Zoe looked from him to Wade and saw the guy turn even paler than before, especially when he realised Lavon was moving as if to hand the child over.

“No way, man,” said Wade, getting up from the stool and backing up a step. “I never... You can’t just hand me a baby.”

“Well, I sure as heck can’t carry him around for the rest of time,” Lavon pointed out, “and if I try to put him down, he hollers.”

“Okay, give him to me,” said Zoe, reaching to take the little boy.

Carefully and gently, Lavon handed John-Thomas Smith over and Zoe settled the baby into her arms, smiling at him as he stared at her warily.

“Hey, little guy,” she said, bouncing him slightly. “You’re a real cutie, huh?”

He looked a little confused for a moment, trying to turn enough to see Lavon again. Once he was satisfied that the guy was still there, he seemed okay with settling against Zoe without complaint.

“You wanna say hi to your daddy, huh?” she asked him then, glancing at Wade who looked petrified yet. “Come on, let’s say hi to daddy,” she insisted, moving around the counter. “Wade, you really don’t have to be scared. I know babies seem really fragile, but they’re pretty resilient actually. He’s old enough to support his own head, so you don’t need to worry about that. Come on, just take him.”

She held the baby out to him and Wade visibly swallowed hard before he reached out his hands to grasp the little boy under the arms. When Zoe was sure he had a good hold, she let go but stayed close, not really worried that Wade would drop the kid or anything, but she could see in his eyes that he was still concerned that he might.

“Hey, kid,” said Wade, awkwardly holding the child. “Uh, apparently, I’m your daddy, so... yeah, sorry ‘bout that.”

“Here,” said Zoe as she took a hold of his arms and directed him in holding the kid less like an exploded bomb and more like the child he was. “See, much more comfortable for everybody.”

“Speak for yourself,” Wade muttered, staring down at the little boy in his arms.

“You know, even without the birth certificate, we shoulda known who’s kid he was,” said Lavon then, glancing between father and son. “I mean, just look at the two o’ them.”

Zoe focused on the baby first then looked up at Wade’s face that was just now starting to look less panicked. Lavon definitely had a point. The little hair that John-Thomas had was distinctly blond, his eyes had a greenish tint in the blue already, and when he smiled a big beautiful smile he could easily pass for a de-aged Wade.

“You think he looks like me?” asked Wade himself.

“So much.” Zoe nodded definitely. “But you really didn’t know Carrie-Sue was pregnant?”

“I just told you,” said Wade crossly. “She left the morning after Halloween, I haven’t seen her or talked to her since then,” he confirmed, shaking his head. “How in the heck was I supposed to know about... about him?” he said, voice disappearing as he looked back at the baby in his arms.

John-Thomas tilted his head as he stared up at Wade in apparent wonderment, then the smile came back and he threw himself forward, trying to hug ‘daddy’ with his too-short arms.

“Oh my God!” Zoe gasped, one hand at her chest as the cuteness overwhelmed her.

“Now that is just every kind of adorable,” Lavon admitted, chuckling at the scene.

Wade looked baffled but not unhappy that the kid seemed to like him. He held the little boy close and rubbed his back, a smile breaking out on his face, though he seemed to be trying to hide it.

Zoe couldn’t imagine how mixed up he felt right now, but when her eyes landed on the baby seat and documents lying beside it on the counter, she realised somebody had to be practical in all of this.

“So, do you have any contact information for Carrie-Sue? An address? Phone number? Email?”

“Only address I knew was her parents place from when she lived here before.” Wade shook his head. “When she came back visiting that summer, she was at the Whippoorwill, far as I know. I got a number somewhere maybe, but I’d guess she changed it by now,” he admitted, daring to reach one hand around to his back pocket for a second to retrieve his cell and toss it on the counter.

“You want me to...?” Zoe offered, gesturing to the phone.

“Go crazy, doc,” he said, bouncing the baby in his arms still.

“I could do some mayoral style diggin’ into things if the number’s a bust,” Lavon said then. “See if I can’t find a forwarding address for her parents if nothing else. They gotta know where to find our girl.”

As he talked, Zoe had searched Wade’s contacts for Carrie-Sue, finding there were way more girls names to comb through than even she had expected. It made her feel strangely uncomfortable actually. She hit the dial button on Carrie-Sue’s number a moment before Lavon finished speaking and the guys both watched and waited as the phone rang once, twice, three times. The next thing Zoe knew she was getting a recorded voice telling her the number was no longer in service.

“No go,” she said, dropping Wade’s cell back on the counter. “Time to make use of your power, Lavon.”

“I’m on it,” he said, nodding once as he hurried to his home office.

Zoe watched him go and then turned back to Wade. A smile came to her lips without her hardly even being aware of it.

“You’re taking to that pretty easily,” she noted.

“Seems maybe I’m a natural,” Wade told her, laughing when John-Thomas wriggled in his arms, making a happy gurgling sound before flinging himself forward for another hug. “You know who I am, huh, little man?”

“Babies have good instincts as a rule,” Zoe explained. “He may not be aware that you’re his father, but he clearly feels comfortable. He knows you’re the good and trustworthy type.”

When Wade looked at her then, with some mixture of confusion and wonder in his eyes, Zoe replayed what she just said inside her head. As awkward as it was to have complimented him that way, she couldn’t see a reason to try and take it back. What she said was true. Wade could be trusted in all the ways that mattered. He never failed to come through for her or for Lavon. Sure, he could be a pain in the ass sometimes, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t a good guy, and the baby in his arms certainly seemed to know it.

“Aww,” she said then, watching John-Thomas stretch and yawn in Wade’s embrace. “He’s so precious.”

She reached out a gentle hand to the baby’s head and smiled at him when he turned to look at her. He made an ooh of sound, one hand reaching out and catching in Zoe’s hair for a moment as he stared at her. Then another yawn escaped and he flopped against Wade, his little eyes closing.

“He’s probably due a nap or something,” said Zoe thoughtfully. “I’m amazed he’s not hungry actually, but then he could’ve had a feed right before...” she trailed off, her eyes moving over the baby seat again.

The poor kid had nothing else, no extra clothes, no food or drink, not even a teddy bear to cuddle up with. There was a blanket that had presumably been covering him when Lavon found him, but that was all.

“How could anyone do this?” she said out loud without really meaning to.

“I don’t know, doc.” Wade shook his head, holding the sleepy child close still, seeming to sway in place without even noticing he was doing it. “Carrie-Sue maybe wasn’t the smartest girl, but I don’t... Well, she wasn’t ever a bad person. I can’t believe she’d just abandon him like this.”

“But she did,” said Zoe pointedly, picking up the note that had been in the baby seat and reading it again. “She clearly trusted you to take care of him, even when she felt she couldn’t anymore.”

If Wade heard her, he didn’t show any sign of it. All his attention was on the baby in his arms who was seconds away from deep sleep. Zoe wasn’t sure what the feeling was that stirred inside her as she watched father and son together, but it was all kinds of warm and fuzzy.

Of course, being happy to hold onto a sleeping child for a while was very different to taking care of a kid 24/7. Zoe didn’t need to ask Wade’s opinion to know he was not exactly prepared for fatherhood, and yet, she wondered what choice he would really have if they couldn’t track down Carrie-Sue.

“You should maybe lay him down now,” she whispered, pulling the baby seat closer to Wade.

He silently nodded his head and gently put the little boy down, placing the blanket back over him and then stepping back, smiling.

“Can’t hardly believe this,” he said then, rubbing the back of his neck. “I got a son, doc.”

“Seems that way,” Zoe agreed. “You think you can deal with that? With being a father, I mean?”

“Hell if I know.” Wade shook his head, staring at the baby still. “Guess I’m about to find out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If your math is strong and you were paying attention, you may have figured out by now that this story is set in January 2012, but I thought it was worth saying it, just in case :) Basically, we're starting in the break within Season 1, so after the Christmas of 'Hairdos & Holidays' but before 'Hells Belles' which aired towards the end of Jan...and I don't know how much canon is going to be in this and how much I'll skip out, we'll see ;)


	3. Chapter 3

Going into practical doctor mode, Zoe had wasted no time in making a list of all the things a baby of John-Thomas’ age might need and heading out to the store to get them. Thinking ahead about the gossips in Bluebell, she promised she would go out of town for the supplies.

“Like it’ll make a difference.” Wade rolled his eyes. “You know how it is around here, doc. The whole town’ll know about him by sun up.”

“Not necessarily,” Zoe assured him. “We should really establish some facts before anybody else finds out. Anyway, nobody is going to hear anything from me, okay? If I do run into anybody who asks any questions about my buying baby supplies, I will just tell them I am helping out a patient,” she said definitely. “It’s not a lie. You are my patient, right?”

“Right.” Wade nodded, recalling the time she stitched him up in a heatwave some months back with a smile he couldn’t control. “Thank you, Zoe.”

“No problem,” she said, smiling back before she finally left.

A couple of hours later, she returned with bags aplenty, to find that the baby was, miraculously, still fast asleep and the guys were talking in low voices on the couch.

“-like Mr and Mrs Smith haven’t seen or heard from their girl in a long while. You may even have seen her after they did,” Lavon was explaining to Wade, who was rubbing his hand across his forehead. “I’m fair certain they have no idea that they’re grandparents.”

“You didn’t tell them, right?” asked Zoe, creeping past the sleeping child towards her friends.

“Not my place to break the news, Z,” he told her definitely. “You get everything?”

“Enough for a few days, I think.” Zoe nodded, flopping down into the armchair surrounded by the bags. “Everything from formula and diapers, to clothes and pacifiers, and all I know for sure is that babies are so expensive.”

“Right.” Wade nodded, suddenly standing up from the couch and reaching for the wallet out of his back pocket.

“Oh, no.” Zoe waved her hands at him. “I wasn’t saying that so you would-”

“He’s my kid, doc,” Wade reminded her. “Least that’s how it’s looking, so all this stuff is mine to pay for.”

“Wade, seriously. I just charged it to my card,” Zoe explained. “When the bill comes in, we’ll figure something out, but not tonight.”

He looked set to argue for a minute, until he realised that funds were distinctly lacking after all. If Zoe really had insisted on him paying for the bags full of stuff, Wade doubted he could’ve covered it anyway.

“Thanks,” he said, sitting down again. “I appreciate it.”

Zoe only smiled and nodded.

“So, I’m thinking we should probably all get some shut eye while we got the chance,” said Lavon then, eyes catching on the clock. “Gettin’ kinda late and I gotta feeling when he wakes up, we’re all gonna know about it,” he said, tipping his head towards the baby sleeping soundly in the kitchen yet. “You wanna stay here in the house tonight, Wade, that’s fine by me.”

“It might be better than moving him right now,” Zoe considered, “plus there’s two of you to tag-team it if things get rough.”

“Rough?” Wade echoed. “Rough, how?”

“Well, it’s just... I’m guessing you don’t have much experience with kids?”

Wade shook his head in the negative.

“I got some,” Lavon admitted, “but I ain’t so sure I can take point on this. I’m no expert.”

“I did a paediatric rotation,” Zoe admitted. “You want me to stay too?” she asked, mostly looking at Wade.

He had that awkward, kind of bashful look on his face again. It was almost as adorable as John-Thomas.

“Seems like maybe it’d be a good idea,” he said, peering back at where the baby slept on in his seat. “Unless you wanna come back in the morning and find a catastrophe waitin’ on you.”

“Hey, what happened to being a natural?” Zoe asked him with a smile he just about managed to return. “Look, we can do this,” she promised, her hand on his knee. “I’m not denying, taking care of a child of any age is not a bowl of cherries for anyone, but John-Thomas seems okay so far. He’s not old enough to run off when we’re not looking but he’s passed the really fragile new-born stage. I’m pretty sure between three of us we can deal, at least for a few days until we figure things out.”

Zoe wasn’t sure exactly what she meant by that and was glad nobody asked her. In her head, she was sort of assuming that they would track down Carrie-Sue Smith and she would come reclaim her kid. At the same time, there was every chance that wouldn’t happen, and even if it did, John-Thomas was as much Wade’s son as Carrie-Sue’s, apparently. He would probably want to be in his son’s life no matter what now, at least, Zoe would’ve thought so.

Choosing not to get into that discussion until she had to, Zoe and Wade headed back to their respective houses to grab overnight stuff, leaving Lavon to watch over John-Thomas. Within the hour, everybody had arranged themselves around Lavon’s home, with Zoe in the guest bedroom, and Wade downstairs on the couch with John-Thomas close by.

Zoe couldn’t entirely explain why she couldn’t sleep even though she felt tired. The bed was equally as comfortable as her own, maybe more so, and she was perfectly happy to be in the house with Lavon and Wade. It was only perhaps that her mind just wouldn’t stop racing with possibilities regarding John-Thomas. 

It was still kind of a shock to realise that Wade was a father, though she supposed given how many women he slept with, the odds were stacked in favour of a child showing up somewhere along the line, even if he was always careful. It was still strange for the kid to show up without the mother though. For all that Zoe never really considered herself naturally maternal, she could not imagine just abandoning a baby, even if he was being left in the care of his father.

A banging sound made Zoe sit up fast. It was swiftly followed by the baby crying and she threw her legs out of bed, quickly pulling on her robe and rushing down the stairs. She reached the kitchen and flipped on the light to find Wade sat on the floor, his back against the counter, and John-Thomas in his arms.

“It’s alright, little man,” he was telling his son, rubbing his back and trying to bring comfort. “I know it was a big nasty shock and all, but you’re fine, we’re all good.”

“What happened?” Zoe asked, pushing her hair out of her face with one hand and keeping her robe closed with the other.

Wade glanced up at her over the baby’s head, squinting in the suddenly too bright light. “I tried to get some water from the fridge without putting on the light and waking him up,” he explained, even as John-Thomas’ crying eased down to a dull roar. “Apparently, I was closer to the damn thing than I thought and slammed right into it.”

He winced when he said it and Zoe suddenly realised, he was trying to move his toes and regretting the action in a second.

“Accidents happen,” she noted, coming closer and sinking down to the tile. “You seem to have handled the crying pretty well anyway,” she said with a smile.

“Yeah, crazy kid actually seems to like me well enough,” Wade agreed. “Even when I’m scaring him half to death. Geez, doc, what the hell you doin?!” he complained then as her hand made contact with his toes.

“I’m checking to see if you broke anything, you big baby,” she told him with a look.

Though Wade wanted to tell her to leave him be, he knew Zoe was just doing her job. Besides, having her fuss over him wasn’t so bad, he had to admit that much.

“Well, I don’t think there’s any permanent damage,” she said eventually. “You’d need an X-Ray to confirm, but chances are good if you can walk on it, it’ll be fine. You want me to...?” she asked, making gestures that she would take John-Thomas for him so he could try to get up again.

Wade handed the baby over carefully and Zoe took him into her arms, shushing him when he started to fuss and promising everything was just fine. She glanced from him to Wade and watched him pull himself to his feet, gingerly putting his weight on the foot that he had slammed into the fridge.

“I think maybe it’ll be okay,” he said, testing how well he could walk.

“It’ll probably turn some impressive colours,” Zoe warned him, “but see, no real harm done,” she told the baby in her arms then.

Unfortunately, he didn’t seem completely happy with that and started crying again within a minute. Zoe winced at the sound and then her eyes passed over the clock on the wall.

“He has to be hungry,” she said, shaking her head. “Uh, Wade, the formula is in that third bag,” she told him, gesturing as best she could while holding a wriggling infant. “I put the bottles in the steriliser before I went to bed.”

“Yeah, you tilting your head and flapping your hand ain’t gonna help me know how to do this, doc,” Wade told her, having located the tub of milk powder and feeling no further forward.

With John-Thomas duly passed back to him, Zoe took over making up a bottle. The baby seemed less upset back in Daddy’s arms but wouldn’t completely settle until he got his food. Zoe worked quickly to prepare the formula and then encouraged Wade to sit down on the couch for the actual feeding.

“Okay, you wanna make sure his head doesn’t tip back too much,” she instructed, “but keep the bottle tilted enough so that he’s not just getting air.”

Wade did as he was told and before long John-Thomas was enjoying his bottle, much to the relief of both his father and Zoe. They sat in comfortable silence while the baby drank, Zoe’s eyes drifting closed more than once in that time. It really was stupidly late.

“Well, that seemed to go down well,” she said when the baby boy was finally done, taking the bottle from Wade and going to tidy up in the kitchen.

It was only when she turned back around, she realised she was being watched, which startled her just a bit. After all, it was just now occurring to Zoe what she must look like with her hair all over the place and no make-up on. If the way Wade was smiling at her was anything to go by, the view couldn’t be so bad, she supposed.

“I’m glad you’re here, doc,” he told her as she came back towards the couch.

“Me too,” she said, nodding her head. “Since, apparently, Lavon can sleep through anything.” She rolled her eyes.

“I didn’t mean... I meant to thank you,” Wade explained. “You know, for helping out and all. Means a lot.”

“Oh, well, sure,” Zoe told him, still hovering in place at the end of the couch. “C’mon, look at the times you’ve helped me out since I’ve been here. Car rides, snake bites, Leon Mercy,” she recalled with a smile.

“Not like you never paid me back, doc,” Wade reminded her. “As I recall, you stitched me up real good that one time when I needed the help.”

“That’s just my job.” Zoe rolled her eyes, knowing she had to make light of it, if only because so much as thinking about the events of last year’s heatwave made her feel as if she was right back in it!

“This ain’t your job,” said Wade, shifting John-Thomas in his arms as the little one started to drift towards sleep again. “This is me bein’ in over my head and you steppin’ up to help me out,” he said, gazing down at the baby at first then glancing up to meet her eyes. “So, thank you, Zoe.”

“You’re welcome, Wade,” she assured him, wondering when her voice had become so soft and strange, and making herself snap out of it just as soon as she realised what was happening. “Um, but seriously, you’re already doing so well. You figured out feeding, comforting, and bonding already. You are pretty much one diaper change away from being a master of the basics,” she said with a grin.

“Hear that, JT? Your daddy is a natural after all,” he told the baby.

“JT?” Zoe echoed, just mildly amused.

“What? I like it.” Wade shrugged. “You think it’s lame?”

“No, actually, I think it’s adorable.”

Then he was looking at her that way again and she was feeling all floaty and strange. Zoe literally shook her head to snap herself out of it, internally blaming the lack of sleep and surprise of a baby in their lives for her strange feelings. Now was so not the time to be contemplating Wade in those terms. She doubted if any time would be a good time, but now most certainly wasn’t it!

“Okay,” she said suddenly, clapping her hands. “So, diaper change for JT, and then we can all get back to bed.”

That certainly broke the mood and would-be moment, but Zoe wondered how long it would be before the next one came up and how she might deal with it when it did.


	4. Chapter 4

It was mid-morning before Zoe, Wade, and Lavon had really got themselves together. It had been a heck of a night, all told, and there was still plenty to figure out now morning had come. Lavon planned to make breakfast, but that meant moving as much of the baby stuff as possible out of the kitchen. Zoe and Wade set John-Thomas up in the living room, finally pulling all the supplies that she had bought last night out of the bags and getting some organisation in place.

“I don’t know if Lavon really meant for us to make the living room into a nursery but, hey, it works for now.” Zoe shrugged. “You liking the new view, kid?” she asked JT who was sat on the couch watching everything with wide eyes.

“He’s concentrating real hard.” Wade frowned some as he noticed it.

“Yeah, probably not how you think,” said Zoe, wincing a little. “That’s more than likely going to lead to a diaper change,” she explained with a look.

“Great.” Wade looked less than impressed. “Well, I’ve been in worse situations.”

“Really?” Zoe checked.

“Trust me, doc, all you’ve seen of Crazy Earl ain’t as bad as he can get sometimes,” said Wade in explanation - Zoe chose not to ask any further questions.

“Okay,” she said, turning to the door. “So, I’ll let you handle that and I’ll just...” she trailed off, heading back through the kitchen.

“You right on time.” Lavon smiled, spreading his hands to show off the counter filled with the usual Danishes, fruit, pancakes, and cereal. “Is Wade not eating with us?” he asked, watching Zoe take a seat and dig in alone.

“He and JT are having a situation,” she said, making a face. “He’s probably going to lose his appetite in there.”

“And that’s all the information I wanna hear about that,” Lavon assured her. “So, I’m thinking we need a real plan where this baby is concerned. I know Wade says he’s his kid so he’ll step up, that’s all admirable and everything, but we’re talking a real live baby here. You know, as much as I love Wade and respect the hell outta him for what he’s tryin’ to do-”

“It’s a lot to take on.” Zoe nodded. “Especially this suddenly. I mean, most people have up to nine months to adjust to the idea of parenthood. This has literally been handed to Wade out of nowhere. He really does seem to be taking to it pretty easily though,” she said with a smile that got Lavon’s attention more than a bit.

“You know you got this really weird look on your face, right?” he said, smirking some.

“What look? There’s no look,” she said, shaking her head and putting all her focus back on her breakfast. “Anyway, regardless of what Wade does or doesn’t want to do regarding JT, we do need to figure out what the situation is here. You said you couldn’t get a number or address for the mother, and her parents don’t seem to know anything,” Zoe recapped. “The only real proof we have that Wade is even the father at all is the birth certificate that Carrie-Sue left with the baby.”

“And the fact that kid is the absolute spit of his daddy,” said Lavon, gesturing with his fork as Wade came through to the kitchen with the baby in his arms.

“One cleaned-up, happy little man,” he said proudly, presenting JT for inspection.

“Which is great.” Zoe smiled. “Except his T-shirt is on backwards and his pants are inside out.”

“Are you kidding me?” Wade checked.

“Nope. Oh, Wade, don’t worry about it,” Zoe told him. “Have some breakfast, we’ll fix the outfit later. Come on, JT, come sit with Aunt Zoe,” she said, happily taking him into her arms.

“I don’t think Wade is the only natural when it comes to the baby whispering,” Lavon noted. “You got a knack, girl.”

“I told you, I did a paediatric rotation. Besides, this kid is just the cutest, most well-behaved little bean I ever met,” she said, voice turning decidedly babyish as she fussed over JT, kissing his forehead and making him giggle. “How can you not love him?”

The guys shared a look and then went right back to their breakfast. Women and babies. It was just one of those things they didn’t entirely get.

“So, as we were saying before,” said Zoe, moving her breakfast further away before JT could put his hand in the syrup, “we really need to come up with some definite plans about how we’re going to deal with this situation. I mean, we have some supplies and there’s space here for a kid, sure, but it can’t be permanent, right?”

“I’m guessing the little guy bein’ with me has to be pretty permanent. I mean, especially since we can’t find Carrie-Sue.” Wade shrugged.

“And you’re okay with that, man?” Lavon checked. “I mean, you just got handed a life-time responsibility.”

“Lavon, if he’s my kid, which he obviously is, then he’s already my responsibility whether I was expectin’ it or not. Okay, I did not know this was gonna happen and I have no clue how I’m gonna deal, alright? But I gotta try. What choice do I have?”

Zoe was surprised at first about Wade being so gung-ho when it came to taking on JT so readily, but then she recalled what he said in the other room about Earl. In a lot of ways, she supposed, Wade had been learning to parent for a couple of decades now, thanks to his father’s usually drunken state. The inebriated had a lot in common with helpless children, that much she knew for sure. Still, it was going to be a lot of hard work for Wade to raise JT all by himself.

“Okay,” she said, adjusting the baby in her arms when he wriggled around too much. “So, first things first, you need to talk to Wally about work,” she advised Wade. “I mean, you’re probably going to need some time off to figure out how everything is going to pan out, plus you’re going to need babysitters for any time you are actually working.”

“Well, there’s plenty of folks in town that’d pitch in,” Lavon considered. “I can use my mayoral powers, rally the troops, get together a list of trustworthy child carer types for you.”

“That’d be great, Lavon, thanks.” Wade nodded. “I guess Job One is cleaning up the gatehouse and trying to make room for all the stuff this one is gonna need,” he said, tilting his head towards his son. “You’re gonna take over my life, little man, you know that?”

“Kids have a habit of doing that from what I hear,” Zoe agreed, bringing JT over to his daddy and handing him over. “But like we said, we’ll help all we can, Wade. I’m sure everybody will.”

“Well, one thing’s for sure, nobody’s gonna be too surprised this happened to me.” Wade shrugged. “Come on, now,” he said, looking between Lavon and Zoe. “A whole bunch of folks are even gonna be quick to say I got what I deserved. Can’t run around like I have for so long without something like this occurrin’ eventually, I guess.”

“What do you know? He did listen in Sex Ed.” Zoe rolled her eyes. “Maybe just not quite hard enough.”

“Sweetheart, you wanna know how well I paid attention in Sex Ed-”

“You won’t be demonstrating anytime soon” Zoe cut in. “Not to me or to anyone. Not with a baby’s crib right there next to your bed.”

Wade looked from her to JT and sighed. He supposed she had a point on that.

* * *

Zoe could say one thing for Bluebell - the people there always pulled together in a crisis. Lavon had been absolutely right when he said there would be plenty of volunteers to babysit and such. There was even a crib, a high chair, and various other items donated to the cause by various helpful neighbours. Of course, Wade was right too when he said that some of the townsfolk would be quick to judge, saying he deserved this situation he got landed in. Zoe didn’t really know how to argue with that.

Still, she had promised to help in any way she could, for Wade’s sake and for JT’s too. She booked an appointment the very next day for the baby to come in for a check-up. It worried her just a little bit when it was ten minutes after that appointment time and Wade still hadn’t showed.

“We’re talking about Wade Kinsella, honey,” Addy reminded Zoe when she came wandering out of her exam room for the fourth time, looking concerned. “He probably just lost track of time, or the kid just ain’t co-operating today.”

“I didn’t want to leave them alone, but I had to come to work.” Zoe sighed. “Lavon said he’d keep an eye on them, but I’m not so sure he has much experience with kids either.”

“Well, seems nothing too disastrous has happened,” said Addy then, nodding towards the door as Wade struggled some to get through it, carrying JT in his arms and a pretty large baby bag on his shoulder.

“Hey.” Zoe rushed to help him. “I was starting to worry about you.”

“Hear that, JT? We had the doc here all worked up.” Wade smiled at the baby. “Truth is, we’d’ve been here on time if half the damn town hadn’t stopped us on the way to fawn all over the kid,” he explained.

“You can’t exactly blame ‘em” said Addy, smiling widely. “You got a real good-looking child there, Kinsella.”

“Takes after his daddy,” he said proudly.

Zoe rolled her eyes. “Okay, now that you’re here, exam room,” she said, gesturing that way. “I do have other patients to see, you know?”

Wade looked at Addy who mouthed, ‘No, she doesn’t’, making him laugh. Carrying JT into the exam room, he dumped the bag into the chair and took a seat while Zoe fussed with her papers.

“Now, I kind of had a breakthrough this morning, information-wise,” she explained. “The certificate had JT’s birth recorded in New York, and since I have a whole bunch of contacts at the hospitals up there, I managed to do a little detective work and.... ta da!” she said, grinning as she held up a folder for Wade to see.

“You magicked up a file?” he asked, seemingly underwhelmed.

“Medical records, Wade!” Zoe told him. “These are JT’s medical records from New York. Now, I already tried the contact information for his mother and that was a no go, but this does mean we can confirm what shots he’s had and that kind thing. Makes it so much easier to take care of him from a medical standpoint.”

“Well then, that’s good, I guess.” Wade nodded. “Hear that, kid? You got a real bonafide file for the doc’s fancy file cabinet. That kinda stuff makes her a weird kind of happy.”

“Says the guy who gets excited by video games and generic beer.” Zoe rolled her eyes.

“Hey, they ain’t the only things,” he assured her with a look.

“Okay, so not what you’re here for,” she told him, beginning her examination of JT.

Not long after, she was happy to tell Wade that he had one very healthy little boy on his hands. At least that was one less thing to worry about.

“Got the Kinsella constitution, I guess. We’re a pretty tough breed,” he declared, bouncing JT on his knee.

“Carrie-Sue had clearly been taking good care of him before she...”

“Abandoned him,” Wade said coldly when Zoe seemed loathed to say the words. “’S what she did, doc. No gettin’ away from that.”

“I still can’t wrap my head around it.” Zoe shook her head. “Not just because he’s adorable and such a good kid. I mean, how does a mother leave any child like that, on purpose? I can’t understand that at all.”

“That’s ‘cause you live up to your name, Dr Hart,” said Wade with a hint of a smirk. “I’m not saying Carrie-Sue was a bad person, least not when I knew her. She had a selfish streak in her, I guess, but... yeah, I have trouble figuring on how she could just leave him like that too,” he said, shaking his head,

He looked to JT when the kid made some random baby noise, and Zoe followed his gaze. Maybe Carrie-Sue had her reasons for what she had done, but that couldn’t really matter at this point. What mattered was that JT was a part of their lives now. Wade had a son and that was going to change absolutely everything.


	5. Chapter 5

They developed a routine. It had to happen really, not least because Zoe had insisted on it. Though Wade was quick to point out that JT was not her child, she just countered with the fact that she was a doctor and therefore knew best. Babies needed structure and after barely two weeks in Bluebell, that was exactly what he had.

There was a timetable posted on the fridge in Lavon’s kitchen. Wade and Zoe both had their own copies too, carefully made by Rose on her computer, colour-coded and idiot-proof, so that it was clear to them all exactly where JT was supposed to be, when, and with whom, as Wade worked his shifts at the Rammer Jammer and Zoe covered her own work at the practice.

Lavon seemed to have become the main go-to babysitter, especially over night when Wade had to work late. JT slept soundly for the most part, hardly ever waking up at crazy hours and giving him trouble. Unfortunately, this particular Friday night hadn’t gone quite so smooth.

“The kid has done nothing but whine and complain since Wade dropped him off last night,” he told Zoe over breakfast on Saturday. “Ain’t usually like that.”

“Well, there could be any number of reasons for it,” she considered, reaching to take JT into her arms.

She felt his head and looked him over, finding him not at all over-hot and completely cogent.

“You just feeling restless, little man?” she asked, bouncing in him her arms. “Maybe he misses his daddy. I’ll walk him over to the gatehouse soon.”

“Won’t Wade be coming up to get him?” Lavon checked, wielding the skillet to put on some bacon now he was baby free.

“Not today.” Zoe shook her head. “I’m owed some time off so, barring emergencies, I said I’d take point while Wade runs some errands. He’s pretty much been working and taking care of JT non-stop the past couple of weeks. The poor guy’s barely had a minute to turn around.”

“He has really thrown himself into fatherhood,” Lavon considered. “Guess he didn’t really have all that much of a choice.”

“Well, me and JT are going to have a fun day, right, kid?” said Zoe, ticking the little boy until he laughed loudly. “I thought I’d take him into town with me, pick up some things at the store, maybe visit the ducks on the pond, all that good stuff.”

“Sounds like a fine time,” said Lavon, smiling. “You know, I know he can’t help it, but that boy had Uncle Lavon up all night with his fussin’ and now look. Good as gold for Aunt Zoe.”

“Aww, it’s just one of those things. You didn’t mean it, did you, JT?”

All he did in response was make a gurgling sound and then put his whole hand in his mouth to suck on.

“Hmm, I wonder if you’re teething already. That could explain the restlessness and the complaining. Well, you seem okay for now, so let’s do this breakfast thing and then go wake up Daddy.”

A half hour later, with JT fed and changed, Zoe wandered over to the gatehouse and knocked on Wade’s door. She had thought he would be up early, ready to face the day and make the most of the free time to get to all those tasks that he hadn’t had time for all week long. Apparently, she was wrong.

“Hey, doc. Somethin’ wrong?” he asked when he finally opened the door to her second round of knocking.

“Um, no. No, nothing... nothing wrong,” she said, shaking her head to clear the fog that descended at the sight of him.

Wade always looked good, Zoe knew she would have to be blind not to notice that, but lately, she felt like she had sort of stopped noticing it as much. Usually, whenever they were in a room together, they were focusing on JT or at least discussing him, and Wade was mostly fully dressed when she saw him these days, unlike right now when he was wearing nothing but boxers and a sleepy expression.

“We, uh... we just called by to say hi, you know, me and JT,” she said, painting on a wide smile. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realise you were still sleeping.”

“Didn’t close up the Rammer Jammer until three,” Wade explained, rubbing a hand over his face. “Figured I could afford to lie in a while if you were taking on babysitting duty today.”

He smiled when he realised JT was reaching for him and easily picked his son out of Zoe’s arms.

“Mornin’, bubba. You doin’ okay?” he asked, hugging the child who seemed more than pleased to see Daddy.

“Lavon said he was a little restless last night,” Zoe explained. “If I had to guess, I’d say he has teeth coming already.”

“That normal when they’re this size?”

“Sure.” Zoe nodded. “It varies, obviously, but six months is pretty average. I can pick up some teething rings and maybe some cooling gel when I head into town later, if you want.”

“Uh, yeah, I guess that’d be good, thanks.” Wade nodded, though he looked very awkward all of a sudden.

Zoe half-wondered if he suddenly realised his state of undress and was embarrassed, but that didn’t seem very Wade-like. It occurred to her then that it was the shopping she just offered to do, or moreover, the money that would be required to buy the things JT needed.

There had been a lot of expense of late. The townsfolk had been their usual helpful selves, donating some furniture and hand-me-down clothes and such, but that didn’t cover it all, not by a long shot. Zoe’s credit card bill was due in any day now and she already knew she wasn’t going to ask Wade for his share of it, she couldn’t.

“Um, well, if you need to get some more sleep, we should go,” she said then, putting out her hands to take JT back from him.

The baby squirmed, trying to stay with Wade and Zoe winced. Maybe she shouldn’t have come over and let JT see Daddy when she knew she had to take him away again so soon.

“Come on, now,” Wade said to JT. “Don’t be makin’ such a big deal. This is your cool Aunt Zoe we’re talkin’ about, best babysitter in ‘Bama. Don’t start pretending like you don’t know that.”

“Wade, I’m not...” Zoe began, before catching herself. “Best babysitter?” she echoed then, rolling her eyes. “Yeah, right.”

“Come on, Zoe, you’re great with him,” Wade insisted. “And I, personally, have no idea how I woulda got through these past two weeks without all your help.”

There was that look again, the one that seemed to have taken up semi-permanent residence on his face whenever he was looking at Zoe. She saw it last Christmas when he asked her if she wanted to go out for a drink, then again, the first night they’d taken care of JT together. It made Zoe wonder things that she knew she shouldn’t wonder, not now, not with circumstances the way they were.

“Just doing my part, being a good neighbour,” she said with an over-the-top grin.

“Right.” Wade nodded in response, putting his attention back on JT then.

Zoe wasn’t sure if he thought she was crazy, but she was starting to wonder about it herself. At least Wade still trusted her with his son as he duly handed the little boy over. JT didn’t complain so much this time.

“Let Daddy get some sleep now and you’ll see him some more later,” Zoe told him. “He just has things to do first.”

“Yeah, one of which is telling your grandpa you even exist,” Wade told JT, taking his hand when it waved out towards him.

“Earl doesn’t know?” Zoe’s eyes widened at the suggestion. “How is that even possible?”

“Trust me, doc, if he’d heard about me havin’ a kid, he’d’ve come callin’ by now,” Wade assured her, leaning heavily on the door jamb as he yawned. “I figure he prob’ly hasn’t stirred out of his shack too much these past couple of weeks. Winter time is always the hardest on him.”

Zoe had half a mind to ask why that might be but never really got the chance.

“Anyway, I’m gonna get me some more shut-eye, run my errands, go see Earl. Lots to do,” he said, looking more at JT than Zoe now. “But I’ll see ya later, little man, alright?”

“Say bye-bye Daddy.” Zoe smiled, picking up JT’s free hand and waving it at Wade.

“See you later, buddy,” he told his son, watching Zoe carry him carefully down the porch steps.

Somehow, Wade had gotten used to having a kid pretty fast. He supposed it was just because he didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. Despite what some might think, family was important to him. Not so much his brother, because Jesse was generally an ass, but his father, and his mother who he lost too soon.

Still, the one part of all this that really blew Wade’s mind was Zoe. She didn’t even flinch when it came to taking on his son. She did more than her share of babysitting duties, making sure everybody pitched in to do their part, always checking JT had everything he needed and that Wade himself knew what he was doing.

“Hey, doc?” he found himself calling behind her before she got too far away. “You got plans for tomorrow?”

“Um, not really,” she said, shaking her head. “You need me to take JT for a while then too?”

“Nah, I’ll be around. I was just thinkin’, if you wanted to spend some time with the both of us, maybe we could pack up a lunch, take a walk someplace quiet, do the lazy Sunday thing.”

Wade was facepalming on the inside the moment the words were out of his mouth. He was usually so good with women, with an overconfidence that had gotten him into both some of the best and worst situations of his life, but Zoe Hart made him stupid sometimes. Like she would want to give up her Sunday to spend with him and his kid when she already spent all week long running around after the pair of them.

“That sounds so nice,” she said then, smiling like she meant it.

A breath he barely knew he had been holding escaped out of Wade as he grinned right back at her.

“Alright then, we’ll do that,” he said, nodding his head. “I’ll see you two later, I guess.”

“We’re headed into town but we’ll be back at the carriage house by mid-afternoon. Come by any time to pick him up,” she said easily.

He watched her walk away until she and JT reached her house across the way, then Wade took himself back to bed for a couple of hours. As he collapsed amongst the covers and closed his eyes, he had a feeling that any sleep he got now would be filled with dreams of Zoe Hart. It wouldn’t be the first time, and doubtless it wouldn’t be the last either.

* * *

“No, sweetie, don’t touch that,” Zoe told JT, backing the stroller away from the shelving a little. “Why are you so handsy today?”

“Ain’t that just like a male?” joked Annabeth as she appeared at the other end of the aisle with her shopping basket on her arm. “Well, hello, cutie pie,” she said, leaning down to better see JT. “You are just cuter than socks on a rooster. Yes, you are.”

“He is,” Zoe agreed, “when he’s not trying to wreck the whole Dixie Stop,” she noted as JT’s leg kicked out and a box went flying from the shelf to the floor.

“Aww, are you giving Zoe here a tough time, precious?” AB asked him, crouching down to his level and getting his attention off everything else for a while, which was a very good thing. “May I?” she asked.

When Zoe nodded, AB released the straps that help JT in his stroller and lifted the little boy out into her arms. She was really a natural with kids and Zoe took advantage of the fact she had someone keeping a good eye on JT to grab a lot of the other things she needed from the store. She had a full basket by the time AB even noticed anything had happened.

“You shop fast,” she said, looking down at what Zoe had gathered together.

“And you’re really good with kids,” Zoe noted.

“Oh, well. I have to admit, I do love ‘em,” said AB, smiling wide even as her eyes filled up with tears. “I just... Oh, I’m so sorry,” she said, holding JT tight with one arm while she swiped at her eyes with her other hand. “I am being so foolish, tearing up like this in the household supplies section.”

“It’s okay,” Zoe assured her, reaching to take JT back so that the poor women could at least blow her nose and everything. “I’m sorry, did I say something...?”

“It’s not your fault.” AB shook her head. “Nor his either,” she insisted, smiling at JT yet even as she cried - the poor boy looked as confused as Zoe felt by this whole turn of events. “I just... I would love so much to have a little one of my own, but... but it never does happen.”

“Oh,” Zoe said, frowning some. “Well, you know, if you want to come by the practice some time, make an appointment, I would be more than happy to talk to you about that. We can figure out if there’s anything wrong, look into helping you with... your situation,” she said carefully when she realised they were far from alone in the store.

“I don’t know.” AB shook her head. “I’m not so sure that I could talk about all of that with you.”

“It’s strictly confidential, Annabeth,” Zoe assured her. “Doctor-patient confidentiality, nobody else would ever have to know, but honestly? I would like to help. It’s why I’m a doctor,” she said, shrugging her shoulders.

“I might see you soon then, Dr Hart,” said AB, nodding her head. “You too, precious little man,” she told JT, tickling under his chin, before turning fast and rushing away.

“Well, what do you know? I think you just got me another patient, kid,” she told JT as he giggled in her arms. “Nice work.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to point out that I don’t really know a whole lot about babies of this age (no kids, no siblings, no idea!) so I’m writing based on general knowledge, Googling, and checking with my own mum! lol

Lavon hardly knew what to think when he heard clattering in his kitchen in the middle of his lazy Sunday morning. He figured maybe it was Wade at first, having problems with the baby or something. It was a real surprise to find his other tenant stood by the counter... with a knife in her hand.

“Z? What exactly are you doing?” he asked, rubbing one eye that was barely open yet.

“Don’t freak out, I’m not trying to cook anything,” Zoe promised, hands briefly raised in surrender before she went right back to chopping. “I’m just putting some stuff together for a picnic, specifically, foods that we can try JT with,” she said, smiling wide. “Yesterday, when Wade came to pick him up, I mentioned that JT had been putting his hands onto people’s plates a lot lately. I mean, I know kids grab at anything and everything at that age - hair, jewellery, whatever - but he is six months now and reaching for food is a good sign that he’s ready for the weaning process.”

“Of course, it is.” Lavon nodded like he had a clue, coming closer to see what exactly it was Zoe was preparing.

“So, I have some soft fruits and vegetables for pureeing, also avocado and little pieces of chicken and cheese so he can do the finger food thing, because that works better with some kids...”

“You got this all planned out,” said Lavon, smiling too much as far as Zoe concerned. “So, this picnic, it’s just you and the little man?”

“Yes. Well, no. Obviously, Wade will be there too.”

“Obviously.”

There was laughter in Lavon’s voice and a smirk on his face that Zoe didn’t care for. She gave him a severe look, pointing at him with the knife in her hand.

“Do not get any weird ideas about this,” she said definitely. “Wade asked me to go on a picnic with him and JT because... well, as a thank you for helping out so much, I think, and also, probably, so he won’t have to cope with the baby by himself,” she considered, going back to work with the food.

“Sure, yeah, that’ll be it,” Lavon agreed, shaking his head as he poured himself a coffee and hid his smile in the cup.

It had been pretty clear that Wade had feelings for Zoe from the get go, but it had also been just as plain that Bluebell’s newest doctor had the warm and fuzzies for good old George Tucker. Lavon thought maybe she could like Wade too, but with his rep as the one-night stand type and her being the serious, monogamous good girl, there were some barriers to progress, until JT came along, of course.

Wade hadn’t changed as such. Lavon had known for a long time that his buddy was way more responsible and upstanding than he seemed, or at least he could be when he wanted to. With a baby in the picture, someone dependent on Wade being his best self all of the time, it did make a difference. It also threw Wade and Zoe into close quarters more than ever before, and for something that didn’t cause them to fight and bicker, but to actually work together and be friendly.

“You know, I’m sure you could come along on this picnic too,” said Zoe, suddenly snapping Lavon from his thoughts. “The more, the merrier, right?”

“Aww, no,” he said quickly. “I couldn’t... uh, ‘cause I got all these things I gotta do, you know? Busy work. Mayoral duties.”

“On a Sunday?” Zoe frowned.

“Hold onto your hats, the Kinsella boys have arrived!” Wade announced loudly as he came in through the back door.

JT was laughing like a crazy person, clearly finding the whole situation hilarious, and Zoe could well understand why.

“Oh my God, look at you!” she said, hands covering her mouth as she laughed too.

“That is cool, man,” said Lavon, marvelling at the sight.

JT was dressed up almost exactly the same as his daddy, from the blue pants that were not quite jeans to the red-and-black plaid shirt, sunglasses, and a backwards baseball cap. It was the most adorable thing... for about five seconds. Then JT pulled off the glasses and threw them to the floor with a clatter.

“Seriously, man?” Wade asked him. “Do you not wanna look cool?”

“I got it.” Lavon ducked down to the tile to retrieve the shades and check them over. “No harm done, but he prob’ly don’t need ‘em on in the kitchen.”

“Did you not hear the part about lookin’ cool?” said Wade, still in his aviators and refusing to give in and take them off apparently. “Wow, doc, you went all out on this baby-friendly food stuff,” he said, noticing the state of the counter then.

“It’s just some options.” She shrugged like it was nothing. “We don’t know what this guy likes yet, do we?” she said to JT who immediately reached for her, making noise until he was handed over.

Zoe put the knife out of the way, wiped her hands clean on a dishtowel and then took him into her arms for a hug. While she had JT occupied, Wade retrieved the picnic basket he’d pulled together just yesterday and added in the other items that were stashed in the fridge.

“Where you guys headed anyhow?” asked Lavon with genuine interest.

“I don’t know.” Wade shrugged. “I figured we’d just start walking, see where we end up. That okay with you, doc?”

“Sure,” she replied absently, giving way more attention to JT than anything else.

Lavon shifted closer to Wade and spoke in a low voice she was unlikely to hear either way. “If you was planning on this being a date, I think you did it wrong. He’s gettin’ way more attention than you are.”

“It is _not_ a date,” said Wade definitely. “It’s just a picnic.”

“Uh-huh. Lavon Hayes believes you, sure he does,” said Lavon with a look before taking his coffee and heading to his office.

Wade watched him go, shaking his head. It really wasn’t a date, not at all, not with his son right there, obviously. Still, when he looked over at Zoe and JT again, his heart clenched in his chest at the sight that met his eyes. They did make a pretty decent picture, his son and the woman he... well, that he liked, that he cared about. Wade wasn’t entirely sure he knew how to describe Zoe anymore. She was his friend, that much they seemed to have established, but with everything else that was going on, he couldn’t possibly figure out what else she might be.

“Wade?” she said suddenly, snapping him out of his thoughts. “Are you feeling okay? Because we don’t have to go out-”

“What are you talkin’ about, girl?” he said, shaking his head. “We’re havin’ us a picnic, ain’t that right, JT?” he asked the baby who grinned and babbled happily in Zoe’s arms.

“Okay then,” she said, smiling wide. "Let's pack this stuff up and go."

* * *

“You are a wonder, Zoe Hart.”

She hadn’t been expecting those words or the look Wade was giving her when she glanced his way. Zoe hoped she could try to blame the sun for making her cheeks burn, but since they were very deliberately under the shade of a tree, for JT’s sake if no-one else’s, that might be tough to pull off.

“I just gave him food he liked,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “This little guy is the wonder kid, aren’t you?” she said to JT, watching him happily munch on a piece of cheese from his own hand.

Of course, he hadn’t liked absolutely everything she brought along and there was a lot of food on his shirt, and the blanket, and Zoe, and Wade too, but for a first attempt, it really had gone pretty well.

She hadn’t thought much about kids for herself. Zoe figured there was no point contemplating motherhood when she was first and foremost a career girl, with no man in her life that she could ever consider sticking with. Still, it didn’t suck playing at the mom role for a little while. 

“I was discussing the whole motherhood thing with a patient yesterday,” she said, watching JT happily eating. “I mean, I am in no way in that place in my life right now, but I had to admit, I could see the attraction. My mom has never exactly been encouraging about family life, but I guess now I know why. It’s weird, I thought being here would help me feel more connected, I mean, Bluebell is all about families and roots. The only connection I really had here was gone before I arrived and... Wow, would you listen to me,” she said then, shaking her head and laughing as she saw Wade’s expression. “Could I be any more self-centred and depressing?”

“Probably, if you gave it a real good try,” he teased her, “but you know what, doc? Family ain’t all about how far back your roots go,” he told her easily. “These days, all I got by way of blood is Crazy Earl, and now JT, I guess, but there’s plenty of folks ‘round here all pitching in to help when I got myself in a jam. That’s family, right?”

“Yeah, I guess so.” Zoe nodded, looking to JT when he squashed the remainder of his cheese stick into her knee. “And thank you for that,” she said, laughing because she couldn’t help it. “I know you haven’t had the greatest start, kid, but you have plenty of family now. You have your daddy, and you have me... I mean, not like that, I just...” she floundered, glancing awkwardly at Wade.

He only smiled at her, that charming church social smile that always affected her more than she would ever tell him.

“He has you in his corner, doc, then he’s a lucky kid.”

Zoe smiled and looked very deliberately at JT instead. “So, done with the food, huh?” she said, grabbing the baby wipes to deal with his hands and face.

“He still gonna need the formula?” Wade checked, pulling himself off his back to sit up.

“Yes, definitely,” Zoe confirmed, retrieving the bottle.

“Come on, buddy,” said Wade, lifting his son into his lap and taking the bottle from Zoe so he could give the kid his feed.

Zoe busied herself with cleaning up and packing things back into the baby bag and picnic basket. She must’ve moved a little faster than she thought since she had worked herself out of a job long before JT was ever done with his bottle.

With nothing else to do and nowhere else to go, she settled back down onto the blanket next to Wade, looking out at the view. Zoe hadn’t seen a whole lot of nature growing up in New York, the best she got was the occasional window box of geraniums. Here was green and gold, flowers, bees, and butterflies, with a beautiful stretch of water a ways away, rippling in the bright sunshine. 

“Beautiful out here, ain’t it?” said Wade, almost as if he read her mind.

“It really is,” Zoe agreed easily, leaning back on her hands. “You know, when I first came here, I didn’t think I would ever adjust. It was too quiet, too open, too full of stuff that bites and stings and crawls,” she said, shuddering at the thought, “but sitting here like this, with the sun and the view. Why would anyone want to be anywhere else?”

“Can’t think of a reason, doc,” Wade agreed, setting JT’s bottle aside now he was done with it. “‘Sides, people can adjust to the darndest situations when they have to,” he said, dodging out the way when his son made a grab at nose.

Wade mimed biting JT’s fingers and the little boy laughed like it was the best joke.

“You are so good with him,” said Zoe, laughing too. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I didn’t exactly see that coming.”

“Me either,” Wade freely admitted, “but he’s my kid. What was I gonna do? Abandon him like his momma already did?” he said, a bitter tone coming into his voice for a moment, and yet the smile remained as JT laughed and tried to get him to play some more.

“It’s so weird how she just disappeared like that. The contact details on the medical records were a bust. Even her parents don’t know where she went. They don’t seem to even know she had a kid,” said Zoe, tapping JT’s shoulder to get his attention and joining in with the games.

He scrambled to get out of Wade’s grasp, pretty much throwing himself clumsily at Zoe who happily lifted him into her lap.

“I mean, I don’t have the greatest mom in the world, but I would tell her if I was having a baby,” she said definitely, kissing the top of the little boy’s head. “Did you tell Earl about JT?” she asked Wade then.

“I did not,” he told her, though his eyes remained on his son yet. “He was so out of it. Like I said, this time of year, it’s the worst for him.”

JT yawned and leaned back against Zoe, flailing his arms in such a way she almost got hit in the face. Not that she minded, he never meant any harm.

“Can I ask why?” she said, glancing at Wade.

She wished she hadn’t said it when his smile completely disappeared, like the clouds blocking out the sun. Unfortunately, there was no taking it back now.

“What started Earl drinkin’ was... was when my momma died,” he explained, gaze fixed out on the view until he was done. “It was right before Christmastime, back when I was ten years old.”

“Oh, Wade,” said Zoe, hugging JT a little tighter out of instinct. “I... I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry your pretty little doctor head about it,” Wade told her, the smile creeping back in as he looked at her then. “It’s been a long time, I can talk about it without bawling like a two-year-old, but old Earl, he never really got over her,” he said, shaking his head.

Zoe felt awful, like she had completely ruined such a nice day, but then she supposed it wasn’t really her fault. Wade’s mom passing away had happened so long ago, it was just tragic that Earl couldn’t get over that. At the same time, she had to admit, it was kind of beautiful too, to experience love that deeply and completely. Zoe couldn’t imagine it.

JT let out a sigh in the silence, his head lolling against Zoe’s arm.

“Aww, sweetie,” she said, shifting him to a more comfortable position. “I think somebody needs a nap.”

She moved to put him safely into his seat so he could lay more comfortably and sleep. For a minute, Zoe just sat back and watched JT dream, realising then that Wade was doing exactly the same thing very close beside her.

“Thank you for today, Wade. It’s been really nice.”

“Yeah, for us too,” he told her, smiling like he meant it again by now. “You know, Zoe, I was thinkin’...” his voice trailed away as he stared at her and then he shook his head. “Uh, we should probably get ourselves back to the plantation. Sun’s prob’ly gonna get a little hot for my boy soon.”

“Oh, yeah. Yes, we should go,” Zoe agreed, standing up ready to leave.

Somehow, she had thought Wade was going to say something a little more profound than that, but she probably should’ve known better.


	7. Chapter 7

“I know this is going to sound awful, given the circumstances, but I’m really glad you needed a doctor’s appointment, Annabeth. It’s been fun getting to know you better,” Zoe told her, settling back on the couch with a pastry in her hand.

“Well, at least you didn’t find anything wrong exactly.” AB shrugged, selecting a pastry of her own from the Butter Stick box on the coffee table. “Of course, if we never can get Lemon to break the curse...”

“AB, come on.” Zoe rolled her eyes, reaching for her coffee to take a sip. “I already told you, it’s way more likely to be stress than a curse. Curses are not real.”

“So you say,” Annabeth grumbled, taking a big bite off her cruller. “Let’s just talk about something else. How are things going with Wade Kinsella?”

“Oh, pretty good.” Zoe smiled. “I know he seems like the least likely candidate for Father of the Year, but honestly, he has really stepped up. It’s amazing. JT is a lucky kid, considering the way he was just abandoned by his mother.”

“Well, that’s all just wonderful to hear, but not exactly what I meant,” AB admitted, leaning in a little closer to Zoe. “I was more asking after a few details on how things are going with you and Wade Kinsella?” she said with a significant look.

Zoe bit her lip, narrowly avoiding spitting coffee in her new friend’s face. Grabbing up napkins, she quickly wiped her chin and tried to regain some composure.

“AB, me and Wade... I mean, that’s not... I help with the baby,” she said definitely when she could finally find the right words. “There is nothing going on with me and Wade in that way.”

“Oh, okay.” AB nodded then frowned some. “Then I have just one question for you; why in the heck not? I mean, I myself, being a married woman and all, am really not supposed to even notice when men are attractive, but I’ve known Wade Kinsella an awful long time. Now, he may have a reputation, and Lord knows, nobody is surprised that he got some girl into the position Carrie-Sue Smith found herself in, but the man is built like a Mustang and if I was you, I’d be inclined to check out what’s under the hood, if you know what I mean.”

The last part came out fast and practically in a whisper, in spite of the fact the two women were completely alone in the carriage house. Zoe couldn’t help but laugh at how obvious AB was about the allure of Wade, and yet at the same time, she seemed mortified by the idea of anyone knowing she thought about such things. Southern folks really took some getting used to.

“Okay, so, I can’t deny that you have a point about the way Wade looks. He is attractive, and then some,” she admitted, wondering why she could feel her cheeks heating up just thinking about him that way. “And as much as he can be a little bit of an ass sometimes, he can also be really sweet too.”

“So...?” Annabeth asked, shaking her head. “Zoe Hart, you just told me every good point about the man but not one word about why you haven’t... you know?”

“I’m going to choose to believe that by ‘you know’ you mean date him and nothing else.” Zoe smiled. “But the truth is, I’m not entirely sure that Wade would want that. I mean, he doesn’t really seem like the monogamous type, and I am so not the one-night-stand type. Honestly, even if we both wanted something like that to happen with us, how could it? The guy has a son that was pretty much just dropped in his lap out of nowhere. I think maybe for the first time in his life, Wade is not thinking about dating.”

“Hmm, I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” said AB with a look. “I’m just sayin’, I have seen the way you two are together, and like I said, I’ve known Wade an awful long time. He’s just different with you to how he is with anybody else.”

Zoe didn’t have anything more she could really say to that, so she said nothing at all. After concentrating on eating her pastry for a while, she then managed to think of a new topic of conversation, steering AB towards picking out a movie they could watch and promising she wouldn’t tell anyone if she chose something that contained nudity or curse words.

Still, even as they discussed other things and even when they eventually settled down to watch the movie, Zoe couldn’t keep her mind from wandering on the subject of Wade. He was different lately, he had to be when it came to doing his best for JT and everything, but in a lot of ways he was also just the same, as sweet and kind and helpful as he had ever been. He had definitely been paying Zoe a lot of compliments too and going out of his way to let her know she was appreciated, all this with very few comments made about getting her into bed or similar. 

Maybe he did really like her. She had been wondering about it off-and-on since before Christmas, but as she told Annabeth, with the way things were now, with JT to take care of and life so completely turned on its head, Wade would have no room in his life for any kind of dating and Zoe couldn’t expect that. She wasn’t even sure she really wanted that... except honestly, maybe she kind of did.

* * *

The door to the gatehouse flew open the moment Zoe reached up a hand to knock. She stepped back, startled by the sudden movement, and the yelling that followed.

“Tucker, I do not have time for this crap!” said Wade angrily, as JT screamed and hollered at his hip.

“What is going on?” asked Zoe, daring to step into the fray.

“George is just leavin’,” said Wade, glaring daggers at his so-called friend for a moment before turning his attention back to his son.

George sighed, shook his head, and turned away but he didn’t seem willing to leave even as Zoe looked on.

Wade attempted to calm JT down but nothing seemed to be working. If Zoe had to guess, she would say the poor kid could sense the tension in his father and that was only making him more antsy, but now didn’t seem like a good time to tell Wade that. She was pretty sure she had never seen him so mad before.

“Doc, I just can’t settle him,” he said eventually, moving to hand JT to her.

“Okay, I got this,” she promised, taking the baby into her arms. “Hey, JT. Hey, sweetie, what’s wrong? Is it those dumb old teeth hurting you again?” she said, rubbing his back and gently kissing his head. “Okay, okay. It’s okay,” she promised, heading for the mini-fridge where she was glad to find the teething ring that was usually there. JT calmed down fast once he was away from the anger and had something cold to bite on for a while.

“See, it wasn’t me, it’s his teeth,” said George smartly, clearly having been accused of causing JT’s upset before Zoe arrived. “You know that kid likes me.”

“Yeah, well, he’s the only one that does right now,” Wade told him crossly, hands on his hips. “Now, get lost, Tucker, or I swear to God, something worse than words are gonna get tossed around if you don’t!”

George glanced at Zoe, now sat on the end of Wade’s bed, holding JT protectively. He seemed to decide none of this was worth it right now and moved towards the door.

“Fine, I’ll go, but think about what I said, please,” he told Wade before he finally left.

Wade slammed the door closed behind him and Zoe and JT both winced at the sound.

“It’s alright,” she told the baby, stroking his head. “It’s okay, you’re fine,” she promised, hoping to keep him calm.

It seemed to work, but Zoe had an idea it would be much tougher getting Wade to calm down. He was pacing back and forth like a caged animal when she looked up. She really had never seen him like this.

“If I ask what happened are you going to bite my head off?” she asked carefully.

Wade stopped pacing, took a deep breath and visibly tried to find some semblance of calm. Zoe appreciated the effort, even if it didn’t seem to help much.

“Goddamn George Tucker thinks he knows what’s best for everybody, that’s what happened,” he said crossly. “Seems he’s been runnin’ around town tryin’ to get everybody he can to agree not to let Large Mart build a store or a road or some such on any land they got, which is all fine and dandy, I couldn’t give two hoots about his pet project.”

“And yet you seem like you’re really giving a whole bunch of hoots,” said Zoe, smiling a little just because it sounded so silly.

Wade ran a hand over his face and sat down on the back of the couch, facing Zoe and JT. She deserved an explanation and she and his son both deserved for him to stop being so mad and upsetting everybody else.

“There’s this nothin’ strip o’ land, right smack dab in the middle of all this other land that Tucker’s tryin’ to keep away from Large Mart, and it belongs to one Earl Kinsella.”

“Your dad owns land?” Zoe asked, eyes wide with surprise.

“Like I said, ain’t much of a place, just mud and a few trees, and the little shack he’s called home these past ten years o’ more,” Wade explained. “Thing of it is, it could be useful to Large Mart, so Tucker came asking me to talk to Earl about it and when I didn’t get around to doin’ exactly that, he went ahead and did it himself.”

“Which made you mad.” Zoe nodded in understanding.

“Some days the man is so drunk he barely recalls his own name,” said Wade pointedly, “and there’s Tucker, gettin’ him all twisted up about a land deal? That ain’t right.”

“No, it’s really not.”

If Wade looked surprised by Zoe’s agreement, it was because that’s just exactly how he felt. Nobody was in any doubt that the pretty little doctor had the googly eyes for old George Tucker, so to hear her say something he’d done might just be the wrong thing, well, that was a real shocker.

“What?” asked Zoe when she caught Wade staring at her strangely. “Wade?”

“It’s nothin’,” he assured her, waving away her concern. “I just never thought I’d see a day when you were on a side that wasn’t George Tucker’s own.”

Zoe opened her mouth to remark on that but then closed it again quickly. She looked down at JT as he leaned against her, his little hand playing with the ends of her hair. She smiled, hugging him closer and kissing his temple.

“Nobody can be right all of the time,” she said then, glancing up at Wade, “and this time, I happen to think George was wrong. You’re Earl’s son, and George is supposed to be your friend. He should’ve respected your wishes and let you handle this. He also should’ve understood that coming here and causing a fight in front of a child that was clearly in distress was a bad idea, and trust me, when I see him next, I will tell him that,” she said firmly.

The thought of Zoe railing on Tucker had Wade grinning so wide, his face felt fit to split in two. Of course, her agreeing that George had made the wrong call probably didn’t mean as much as he wished it did. Wade chose not think about that right now. JT was still looking a little red-faced and the poor kid had not been having a good time of it today, one way and another.

“Thank you, doc, for giving me at least one thing to smile about on this crap ass day,” said Wade then, moving to sit beside her and trying to get JT’s attention. “You’ve been grumpier even than your daddy today, huh, little man? There’s gotta be an easier way for kids to get teeth.”

“Unfortunately, no,” said Zoe, shifting JT in her lap so he could better see Wade. “We all have to suffer just the same, as much as it sucks.”

“Between him cryin’ over his teeth and Tucker making me mad, I have had better days,” said Wade, shaking his head. “Plus, I guess I’m feelin’ just the smallest bit o’ guilt, ‘cause old Crazy Earl still don’t know he’s your grandpa,” he said to JT, lifting the little boy out of Zoe’s lap and into his own when he fussed to go.

“Maybe now would be a good time to tell him?” said Zoe carefully, clearly concerned she was just going to make Wade mad again if she said the wrong thing. “I mean, I’m guessing you need to talk to him anyway, make sure he’s okay after whatever George said to him, and then maybe you could introduce him to his grandson? You never know, it might be good for him.”

Wade wasn’t so sure he believed that. Putting a kid in Earl’s hands sounded like a truly crazy thing to do. Still, there wasn’t one single part of Wade that ever believed his dad would want to do harm to the kid on purpose. No, sir, Earl would probably just love knowing he was a grandpa. Maybe the real problem was that he had taken so long in giving him the news, Wade just felt bad about it now, wondering how he would explain keeping JT a secret from Earl so long.

“That a doctor’s opinion?” he asked Zoe after a while. “Y’know, about it maybe doin’ Earl some real good to meet his grandson?”

“Not exactly,” she admitted. “Although, scientific trials have shown that people struggling with certain conditions can improve in a more positive environment. What’s more positive and uplifting than half an hour with the Kinsella boys?” she said, smirking the way he usually would.

“Well, when you put it like that, doc,” said Wade, smiling back at her, though unfortunately the sunny expression didn’t last for long. “’Course the problem is never knowin’ what kinda state I’m gonna find the old man in. I get there and he’s in some big ol’ mess when I’ve got this one with me,” he said, shaking his head as he considered it.

“What if I came along?” Zoe suggested easily. “I mean, I don’t wanna intrude in your private family matter, I’m just saying I could come to the house with you. I could stay in the car the whole time if you wanted me to, it’s just if you need JT to be out of the way of anything, he could be with me.”

When Wade looked at her then, Zoe was pretty sure she stopped breathing altogether. She was just so sure he was going to kiss her, and yet, it never happened.

“I ever tell you that you are some kind of amazing, Dr Zoe Hart?” he said instead.

“Maybe,” she told him, putting all her attention on JT just because it seemed safer, “but you say a lot of crazy things, Wade Kinsella, so I probably wouldn’t listen anyway,” she told him, getting up in the next moment and heading for the door. “I just have a couple of things I need to do before we go over to your dad’s place. We are going, right?” she checked, looking back at him from the door.

“We’re goin’,” Wade agreed, nodding his head, and then she was gone. “Well, kid,” he said to JT then, “there was a time when I thought I could make sense of just about any woman on this planet, at least enough to get by, but then your Aunt Zoe went and walked into my life. You know, what, JT? She is just a whole other ballgame.”


	8. Chapter 8

When Wade pulled up outside of what was clearly his father’s house, Zoe had sort of expected him to get out of the car, but he didn’t. He shut off the engine which told her they must be in the right place, but then he just sat there, arms resting on the steering wheel as he stared at the funny little shack that Earl called home.

Zoe glanced across at JT strapped into his seat beside her. He was half-asleep already, lulled into slumber by the car ride. No doubt he was so tired after being up half the night with the pain of his teeth coming through. Lack of sleep was probably most of the reason Wade had got mad at George so easily, though telling him he ought to take a nap too didn’t seem like much of a plan.

Of course, Zoe didn’t really blame Wade for the blow-out between friends. She meant what she said before, George had done the wrong thing and she would be having words with him about it. In the meantime, she realised she should probably say something to Wade.

“Just so you know,” she said in a quiet voice, “this kid is out like a light. Maybe it’d be better to leave him here with me while you talk to your dad anyway, see how he’s doing?”

“Yeah,” said Wade, seeming to snap out of a daze at the sound of her voice. “Wish I knew how he was gonna take this,” he added, shaking his head, and then suddenly he was properly in motion, hopping out of the car and closing the door behind him with a little too much force.

Zoe winced at the sound, looking at JT who wriggled in his sleep, his eyes popping open then.

“Hey, buddy,” said Zoe gently, her hand on his leg as she let him know she was there and everything was okay. “Daddy got a little loud with that old car door, huh? I don’t think he’s thinking so clearly right now. Lots on his mind,” she explained, even though she knew JT could never really understand.

He reached for her hand, grabbed onto a finger and giggled. Zoe smiled, she couldn’t help it. He really was the cutest kid and usually pretty darn happy, teething issues notwithstanding. Unbuckling her seatbelt, she unhooked the straps on JT next and lifted him from the seat, pulling him into her lap.

“Well, Daddy’s in there now telling your Grandpa Earl all about you. You might meet him today, or maybe some other day, that depends...” she stopped before she said anymore.

Even though it really wouldn’t make any difference to a six-month old if he was told his grandfather was a drunk, Zoe just couldn’t bring herself to say it. It just seemed unnecessary and wrong somehow. JT didn’t seem to care either way. He lifted a little fist to rub his eye and yawned.

“Still sleepy, huh?” she asked. “Yeah, I get that. It’s probably a little stuffy in here,” she noted then, reaching over to crack a window.

JT seemed to noticed the window then and fought to turn around in Zoe’s lap to better see. She helped him out and they both peered out of the glass, JT putting his hands against it as he gazed at the world.

“What can you see, huh?” asked Zoe, holding him close with one arm so he didn’t fall and pointing with her other hand ateverything she could see and name for him. “We have lots of trees, and a fence, and a big blue sky, and that’s Grandpa’s house.”

There wasn’t much more than that to say. Zoe was only glad that JT wasn’t old enough for eye spy or anything because it would be the world’s most boring game right now. She stared at the house for a minute, wondering how long Wade was going to be, if this whole trip would be a waste because Earl wouldn’t even be in a fit state to meet his grandson at all.

Zoe’s attention came right back to JT as he pressed his face against the glass and made noise. It was nothing like words, that probably wouldn’t happen for months yet, though it was possible. If anything, the sounds he was making sounded more like a tune than a sentence.

“Are you singing for me?” she asked him, amused by the idea as she turned him back around in her lap and watched him yawn some more. “Aww, sleepy singing. Well, you carry on, kid, because Aunt Zoe doesn’t know any lullabies,” she admitted.

JT looked up at her with bright eyes and a smile that was so much like Wade’s on those occasions when he really meant to be sincere. It surprised her somehow, though she wasn’t sure why.

Before she knew where she was, Zoe was singing, but not a lullaby, or even anything she might usually have found herself humming to herself in the shower. It must’ve been because of where they were, she might have thought so, if she was giving it any attention, but she wasn’t. She was on her second chorus of ‘Moon River’ before she realised she had more company than just JT by now.

“Oh,” she gasped as she glanced up to see the faces of both Wade and Earl at the window. “Um, hi. I was just... I’m sorry,” she said fast, feeling sick.

As if it wasn’t embarrassing enough being caught singing at all, but that song, the one that was so much a part of Wade and Earl’s life for some reason, and here she was taking it over, right in front of them. It felt so wrong.

“Don’t you go apologising, pretty lady,” Earl told her, opening the car door to let her out. “That was just about as beautiful as the way my Jackie used to sing it.”

Zoe stepped out of the car, carrying JT, unsure what she was supposed to say to Earl. When she looked to Wade she was doubly confused. She didn’t know for sure who Jackie was, but Zoe’s best guess would be that she was Wade’s mom, who had died so many years ago. Seeing the look on Wade’s face, what seemed to be tears building in his eyes, she could hardly bear it. It didn’t matter, because he shook off whatever he was feeling in a second, reaching to take JT from Zoe and presenting to him to Earl.

“Well, here you go, old man,” he told him. “This here is your grandson. JT, say hello to Grandpa Earl.”

Zoe watched from two paces back, never feeling so much like an intruder as she did right then. She folded her arms over her chest just so she had something to do with her hands and marvelled at the sight. It was really something to see three generations of men from one family together like that.

* * *

“I just feel bad about the way things went down.” George sighed, taking a long sip from his beer. “I was tryin’ to do the right thing-”

“Well, of course, you were, honey,” Lemon agreed from the next stool over. “That horrible store would be a blight on our little town and I, for one, am glad you are doin’ all you can to stop it.”

George smiled at the support but ultimately still felt bad.

“It’s not like I think I was wrong to stop Large Mart comin’ here,” he insisted. “I just wish that maybe I’d given Wade a little more time instead of going straight to Earl like I did. I just made everything a whole lot worse,” he said sadly, setting his bottle down with a loud thunk.

“No,” Lemon insisted. “You are just doin’ your job and what is best for this town, George Tucker,” she said definitely. “Now, how on earth can you feel bad about that?”

“I feel bad that Wade got so upset about the whole thing,” he reminded her. “And little JT too,” he said, wincing at the memory of the poor child, screaming his head off throughout.

“Well, my goodness, George.” Lemon rolled her eyes. “I can say without a doubt that Wade Kinsella does not have an evil bone in his entire body, but he could never once be accused of being the smartest man in a room,” she said definitely. “Plus, that child of his, well, to speak the truth, I think there might be something wrong with him.”

George looked up at her with some surprise at that remark, as did Annabeth from her other side. So far, she had kept quiet, just barely listening to Lemon and George have their discussion as she ate her own lunch, but now she was interested in where the heck her friend was going with this latest rant.

“You think there’s something wrong with JT?” asked George, clearly just as confused as AB.

Lemon was adamant. “Oh, come on. I never get within five feet of that child when he’s not bawlin’ his head off.”

“Oh, my Lord!” AB gasped, hardly knowing she had even said the words out loud until both Lemon and George turned to stare at her, as well as a few other patrons of the Rammer Jammer.

“AB?” her friend said curiously. “What has gotten into you?”

She meant to bite her tongue, she really did. If asked, Annabeth Nass could honestly not have explained what came over her, but the look on Lemon’s face and all the things she had been saying about Wade and JT, it was too much. It was way too much on top of the things she had said about Zoe, who was actually real nice and a great doctor, plus there was that whole curse thing that was probably stopping AB herself from getting pregnant.

“Lemon,” she said, hopping down from her stool. “That child hollers when you come near because you... you just stress out everybody in a five-mile radius. I love you like a sister, Lemon Breeland, you know I do, but so help me, you have got to realise the negative effect you are havin’ on people, and babies, and... and people who wanna have babies!” 

The next moment, Annabeth was sweeping out of the Rammer Jammer to a smattering of applause that was soon silenced when Lemon cast a glare at the rest of the patrons. Then she looked at George who seemed to be fighting a smile.

“Well, that was... unexpected,” he said, running a hand over his mouth.

“I can’t think what she’s talking about in any case,” said Lemon haughtily.

George knew that he understood exactly and that, when she thought about it, his fiancée could probably figure it out too.

* * *

They stayed at Earl’s place maybe an hour or so. Zoe worried about feeling like a spare part once it was clear that Wade’s father was closer to sober than drunk and things were going well between the guys. JT seemed to love Grandpa Earl on instinct and it really was adorable to watch them together. Wade seemed proud as anything of his boy and of his father too, as Earl promised not to sell his land to anyone for anything.

“This place here, it ain’t much, but it’s my grandson’s inheritance,” he said definitely, grinning wide.

Not that the smiling seemed to be exclusively for JT. Zoe certainly got her share of smiles and compliments from Earl too. Wade did have to correct him at least three or four times when Earl insisted that Zoe was both JT’s mother and Wade’s girlfriend, but she didn’t mind so much. The first title was, of course, impossible. The second, however, felt kind of okay.

When they were driving home, Zoe watching JT happily watch the world shooting past the window, she recalled what had happened before they ever went into the house. It made her feel bad all over again and she knew she just had to say something about it.

“Wade, I’m sorry about before,” she told him, watching his confused expression as it appeared in the rear-view. “I mean, about the song. I didn’t-”

“Doesn’t matter, doc,” he told her definitely. “Earl’s right, you did sing it pretty well.”

They were back on the plantation by now and Wade pulled the car up outside the gatehouse, getting straight out to come around to the back to get JT out next. Zoe had the straps unfastened before he got there, passing the seat to him before following JT out.

“I didn’t know that your mom used to sing it,” she said, still stuck on her apology, though Wade didn’t seem all that bothered by it.

“Just about her favourite song,” he said, smiling at the memory it seemed. “Feels right that JT got to hear it the way she woulda sung it for him.”

Zoe smiled too as he looked from the baby to her, though she found she had to swallow pretty hard before she could speak again.

“It’s an honour to step in for her on that one.”

Wade nodded and then headed for the house. Zoe grabbed up JT’s baby bag and followed him up the steps, into the gatehouse.

“Well, that all went better than I thought anyway,” said Wade as he took JT out of his car seat and put him down on his playmat with his toys. “Earl won’t be sellin’ that land for anythin’ to anybody, not now he knows he got a legacy to leave it all too,” he said, parking himself on the floor, all of his focus on his son. “I mean, I know he cares well enough for me and Jesse, but a grandbaby? That’s a whole other thing.”

“Jesse is your brother?” Zoe checked, perching on the end of the couch.

“Yup.”

“And he doesn’t have kids?”

“Not last time I saw him.” Wade shook his head then looked up at her wearing an expression that was a little too serious. “My brother is not my favourite person to talk about, doc,” he said pointedly.

“Sorry.” Zoe winced. “Again.”

Wade smirked at that. “You have a real habit of apologisin’ to me today.”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” she said, smirking right back because she knew very well what she said.

They both laughed at the joke. JT seemed to as well, which was incredibly cute. He was reaching for a ball that was just a little too far away, doing his best shuffling stomach-crawl until he made it.

“Well, look at you, goin’ and doin’ for yourself already,” said Wade proudly.

“He’s got that independent streak, just like Daddy,” Zoe told him with a smile.

It sounded too much like a compliment for Wade to take it any other way. It was weird how that kind of thing affected him when it came from her, more than anybody else. He kept on reminding himself that she was just helping out for JT’s sake and everything, but there were times when he wondered, when he hoped, if there wasn’t just more to it than that.

“Thanks for comin’ with me today, Zoe, to see Earl and all,” he told her, picking JT up and putting him back on the mat when he started getting too far away.

“It’s no problem,” she assured him, literally waving away his words. “You know, you talk about my apologising too much, but you seem to have a habit lately of saying ‘thank you’ to me every three seconds,” she pointed out. “So, how about this, I will stop apologising for every little thing, if you will stop thanking me for everything I do. We’re friends, right? We don’t need to be worrying about this stuff all the time. Deal?” she said, crouching down near to where he was sat and holding out a hand for him to shake.

“Sure,” he said after a minute, gripping her hand and shaking on it, “it’s a deal, doc.”

“Good,” she told him with a smile, before looking to JT. “Well, I should really go,” she said sadly, running her hand gently over the baby’s head. “Aunt Zoe has lots of things to do, and work to head to before too much longer. You know, I seem to have a lot more willing patients since I started playing babysitter for you, kid. You’re a win-win, awesome to hang out with and great for my reputation,” she told the happy child. “Well, you be a good boy for Daddy. He’s a good guy and he’s had a tough couple of days,” she said definitely, dropping a kiss onto JT’s head before she got up and turned to leave.

“Hey, doc?” said Wade just as she reached the door, causing her to look back at hm. “If you got some time tonight, I’ll be working at the Rammer Jammer from nine until late. Maybe I could buy you that drink that we never got around to havin’?”

Zoe opened her mouth to answer and then closed it again. He seemed serious, just like at Christmas, which was clearly what he was referring to. Though there were a million reasons she could think of to say it probably wasn’t a good idea, none of them seemed to matter all that much as she looked at Wade then.

“Yeah,” she said eventually. “I think I’d like that.”


	9. Chapter 9

Wade was starting to wish he never asked Zoe to come along to the Rammer Jammer tonight. He had sort of assumed that he would have the time to talk with her a little, especially when he got his break. The trouble was he really hadn’t had a chance to stop for a second yet. It was just him and Shelley, who apparently wasn’t feeling a hundred percent anyway, and just about everybody seemed to have come out for a drink and a good time tonight.

What made it worse was that Zoe had found alternate company while Wade was so busy. He could’ve handled it if she was chatting with a girl-friend or Lavon or whoever, but no. She had caught the attention of the local veterinarian, one Dr Judson Lyons, and it seemed that despite the whole her standing him up and him sleeping with a friend of hers not so long ago, Zoe was all about being girly and giddy over just about everything the animal doctor said to her. It was making Wade feel more and more nauseous by the second.

When finally it seemed he had a minute to breathe, he headed down the bar in the hopes of at least getting to apologise to Zoe for being so tied up tonight. Just as he got there, she walked away.

“Great,” he muttered, slamming his hand on the bar top.

“She’s just gone to the ladies’ room, she won’t be long,” Judson told him with a smile that Wade just wanted to wipe of his face, even if it didn’t look even a little smug.

“Well, I’m sure when she gets back, you’ll continue to keep her all kinds of entertained, man,” he said through gritted teeth. “She seems to like you well enough.”

Judson smiled and shook his head.

“Zoe is very sweet and, trust me, I wish she still had an interest in me, but I burned my bridges there,” he said with a sigh, downing the last of his drink and dropping down from his stool. “You do know that she has talked about nothing but you and your son all night, right?” he asked Wade then.

“Say what now?” he checked, startled by what he thought he heard, though it couldn’t possibly be true.

“Honestly, all I have heard about since I got here is how great Wade is, how adorable JT is. I don’t think she’s said one sentence that didn’t have ‘Kinsella’ in it,” he said, smiling in spite of what he was saying. “Well, congratulations to you, Wade, on apparently having a fine son, and for inspiring that much devotion in a woman as amazing as Zoe Hart,” he said, dropping a bill into the tip jar and heading for the exit.

Wade stared after him, hardly able to wrap his head around what he just heard. It came as quite the shock after everything he had been thinking tonight. He was so certain that Zoe and Judson were rekindling something or whatever. It really hadn’t occurred to him for a second that he and his son mattered more to Zoe than the vet ever could.

“Hey, where’d Judson go?” she asked, on returning from the bathroom.

“Not sure,” Wade told her, shaking his head. “He said you were great company, but I guess a long day of veterinarianing tired him out.”

“That is so not a word,” Zoe told him, rolling her eyes as she pulled herself back up onto her stool. “Oh, well, he’s a nice guy but mostly I was only talking to him because I had no-one else to talk to,” she said, looking pointedly at Wade.

“Yeah, sorry ‘bout that, doc,” he apologised genuinely. “Things in here are kinda crazy tonight.”

“It’s okay, I get it,” Zoe assured him. “Maybe next time you ask me out, pick a night you’re not working?”

She seemed to realise just exactly what she had said only after the words were out there. It was the first time either of them had really acknowledged that Wade had asked Zoe out, but that was exactly what had happened, strange as it may seem.

“Don’t freak out, doc,” he advised her. “Scrambles my brain a little too.”

She smiled then, a real genuine Zoe Hart smile, the kind that did things to Wade he couldn’t account for and had long since given up trying to. She really was something special, that much he was sure of, which sometimes made him wonder why she was hanging around him so damn much.

“Are you worried about JT?” she asked then, suddenly alerting Wade to the fact that his own smile had probably faded when his thoughts took a turn. “Because I’m sure he’s fine. Rose may be young, but she is a highly recommended babysitter and her mom is home tonight, so everything should be fine.”

“I’m not worried about him, doc,” Wade assured her. “I trust Rosie and her momma with my boy for the night, I got no fears there. Actually, I was just feelin’ bad about leaving you all by yourself so much tonight.”

“That’s not really your fault,” she reminded him. “Busy bar, lots of thirsty customers. It’s a good thing. You need your job, Wade, now more than ever. Babies are an expensive hobby.”

“Don’t I know,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Damnit, I never did pay my share for your credit card, did I?” he remembered then, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m sorry, doc. What with one thing and another-”

“Relax, it’s no problem,” she assured him. “I’ve spent more on shoes in a few hours that I put on my card for JT in a month. It’s covered.”

“I can’t just let you pay for half my kid’s stuff, Zoe,” he said seriously.

“Yes, you can,” she insisted. “Don’t think of it as me doing you a favour if that’s too weird for you. Think of it as me buying JT a gift, okay?” she said, smiling widely. “You keep telling him I’m his Aunt Zoe and aunts buy gifts for their nephews, right?”

“I guess so.” Wade shrugged. “I should pay you back though.”

“Pour me another glass of wine and we’ll call it even,” she said, waving her empty glass towards him.

“Comin’ right up, doc,” he said as he did what she asked.

It didn’t balance the scale and they both knew it, but Wade knew arguing with Zoe would do him no good. He really didn’t have money to spare to pay her for the stuff she’d bought JT anyway, so he ought to be grateful she wanted to help. Of course, it put yet another weird spin on whatever was between them these days. Did he really ought to be in debt like that to a woman he was sort of dating?

“Okay, this time we’ll let it slide,” he said, presenting her with her drink, “but from here on out, I pay for my own kid. Now, I ain’t sayin’ I’m not grateful for the help and all, ‘cause you know I am, but... Well, whatever this is,” he said, gesturing vaguely between them, “I don’t want it any more complicated than it already has to be.”

Zoe nodded that she understood and took a sip of her drink. She really didn’t know what it was she was supposed to say, she only wished she did. Whatever was between her and Wade, it was so completely undefined and she wasn’t prepared to make any more of an attempt to name it than he had. She was aware that he liked her and the truth was she really liked him too, but with his reputation with the ladies and her crush on George Tucker, it didn’t seem plausible that they’d ever be more than friends. Then JT showed up and Wade’s life was turned upside down. Zoe happily jumped into the adventure with him, and frankly, she had given George little to no thought in the last few weeks, save for when she had planned on yelling at him on behalf of Wade and JT.

Her attention was taken, along with Wade’s own, when someone called for service. It was a shame the Rammer Jammer was quite so busy tonight, but like she said herself, it was probably good to know that Wade’s job was secure at least.

“You’re in demand,” she said with a wry smile.

“Seems that way,” he agreed. “Look, if you wanna hang around, I’d at least like the chance to drive you home. I understand if you don’t wanna do that, I mean, it’ll be pretty late-”

“I’ll wait,” Zoe told him fast.

The winning smile that earned her from Wade was so worth sacrificing a couple of hours sleep for, and it wasn’t as if she had to be anywhere too early tomorrow. Besides, this was supposed to be a first date of sorts, she at least wanted to spend a little time with Wade, even if it was just as long as it took to drive from the bar to the plantation.

“Hey, Zoe,” said a voice behind her then.

When she turned to find George stood behind her, the smile faded quickly from her lips.

“Wow. Somebody made you pretty mad, huh?”

“Yes,” she told him sharply. “And I’m looking right at him.”

“Me?” asked George, his hand on his chest. “What did I do?”

“Um, you went behind Wade’s back to talk to Earl. You went over to Wade’s house and made him mad. You had a fight with Wade in front of JT making the poor kid really upset,” she said, counting each point off on her fingers until George eventually stopped her.

“Okay, okay, I get it,” he assured her. “I had no idea that in the process of my stupidity with the Kinsella family I also made you every kind of mad there is,” he said, shaking his head and apparently completely bemused. “I’m sorry, Zoe. I did already apologise to Wade and asked him to pass on my apologies to his father too. I really didn’t mean for things to get so outta hand. Come on, you know that’s not me,” he said, meeting her eyes and putting on that ‘Hey, I’m good old George Tucker’ smile.

Zoe heaved a sigh.

“Fine, I guess you didn’t mean to be such an ass,” she declared huffily.

George laughed at that and hopped up onto the next stool over.

“Wow, that’s the weirdest forgiveness I ever received, but thanks anyway,” he told her. “How about I buy you a drink, see if I can work my way back from ass to nice guy by degrees?”

“I just got a refill, but the fact you would offer buys you some points,” she told him, unable to keep from smiling by now. “How come you’re here by yourself anyway? I thought Lemon was usually glued to your arm.”

“She’s... Well, she’s a little mad at me too,” he admitted, smirking when he said it, for reasons that Zoe couldn’t possibly guess. “There was kind of an incident here earlier. Would you believe that Annabeth, of all people, got real mad at Lemon and actually yelled at her in front of everybody?”

“Wow,” Zoe gasped. “Today is just full of surprises, but good for AB,” she said then, taking a sip of her drink. “No offence to your charming fiancée, George, but Lemon can be more than a little bossy and controlling with some of her friends, and I for one am not sorry that AB stood up to her.”

“Hey, I’m not gonna fight you on that,” he promised, hands raised in mock surrender. “Actually, there was some truth to what AB said, and hearing her do it was not exactly unamusing,” he admitted. “Of course, the last thing Lemon was going to appreciate was me laughing at her so, yeah, not exactly her favourite person right now.”

Zoe laughed, she couldn’t help it, just as Wade came over to ask George what he wanted to drink.

“Since I accepted your apology, at least you don’t have to worry that I’m gonna spit in whatever you order when you’re not lookin’,” he said with a grin.

“That’s good to know. Thanks, Wade.” George nodded, before ordering a beer. “If it helps at all, I have also apologised to Zoe as well, since it seems when you interfere with the Kinsella clan you also incur the wrath of the nearest New York doctor.”

“You been giving Tucker a hard time, doc?” Wade asked her, smirking some.

“I told you I was going to tell him he did the wrong thing and I did,” she said easily, swirling her wine in the glass. “Nobody can be right all the time, not even lawyers who think they are,” she said, looking sideways at George and smirking almost as hard as Wade had been when he walked away.

“Well, I’m real glad I came in here tonight,” said George, laughing all the same as he finally got his beer and took a swig. “At least I can keep you company, Zoe. It’s not like you to drink alone. Where’s Lavon tonight?”

“On a date with Didi,” she confirmed. “But I’m not here alone. Technically, I’m kind of on a date.”

George frowned as he looked around both her and then himself. “Am I sittin’ on the invisible man?” he asked curiously.

Zoe rolled her eyes. “You’re hilarious, by the way,” she told him, completely dead pan. “Technically, I am here with Wade,” she explained then. “I don’t think he expected to be quite so busy when he asked me, but hey, what can you do?”

George’s eyes were a little wider than they had been before when she really looked at him. Zoe wasn’t sure how to take that particular look of surprise. If he thought it was strange for her to be on a date at all, she was going to be offended, and if he found her choice of going out with Wade to be odd, she might be doubly so.

“I’m sorry,” he said, suddenly shaking his head. “I, uh... I didn’t know that you and Wade were... I mean I figured y’all were friends and you were helping out with JT but...”

“All of that is true,” Zoe assured him. “It’s just... Well, he asked me, and I wanted to, so I said yes. It’s not a thing,” she tried to explain, wishing she hadn’t attempted it the moment she began. “I mean, it could be a thing, but so far it’s just a drinks-type date that hasn’t been very date-like actually.”

“Okay.” George nodded. “Well, that’s... that’s cool, I guess,” he said, finding a smile eventually. “I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to be weird about this. It’s none of my business in the first place, but now that I think about it, as strange as it seems at first glance, you two could probably be really good together.”

Zoe expected to feel strange talking to George about her potentially dating Wade. The truth was it actually did seem pretty weird on the surface, but only because she was still wrapping her head around the concept of her and Wade being more than friends anyway. Having George know about it really didn’t bother her as much as she thought it might. In fact, she felt completely fine with it, especially since he seemed to be supportive of whatever this thing with the two of them was.

“I say good luck to you, Zoe. To both of you,” George said then with a genuine smile, clinking his beer bottle against Zoe’s wine glass.

“Thank you,” she replied with a smile. “And I hope you and Lemon are okay after what happened earlier.”

“I’m sure we’ll be just fine,” George told her easily, though the smile he was wearing that time didn’t look half so convincing somehow.

* * *

“I don’t know, George just seemed weird about the whole him and Lemon thing,” said Zoe thoughtfully as Wade drove them both back towards the plantation. “They’ve been together a long time, right?”

“Since we were all fifteen,” Wade told her. “Aside from the time he was in your home town, o’ course, they’ve been pretty solid the whole way through.”

“Then I guess they’ll figure it out,” she said, shoving her hand in front of her mouth when a yawn escaped. “Sorry about that.”

“Doesn’t matter to me, doc,” said Wade as he put the car in park between his home and hers. “Honestly, I’m amazed I kept my eyes open long enough to get us here.”

“You’re working too hard,” she told him, turning to look at him, the both of them leaned back in their seats with their heads lolling on the headrests.

“Ain’t got a lot o’ choice in that. Gotta work, gotta raise my boy.” Wade shrugged, taking his turn at yawning too. “Like the man in the song says, ‘I’ll sleep when I’m dead.’”

“Take it from a doctor, if you don’t sleep, you’ll end up dead,” said Zoe seriously. “I’m kind of getting used to having you around, Kinsella, so don’t go and screw it up by bowing out on me now.”

“You don’t get rid of me that easy, doc,” he told her with a smile. “Listen, I’m sorry tonight wasn’t really what it shoulda been. Next time I ask you out, I promise not to be tending bar at the same time.”

“That sounds nice,” Zoe replied, smiling across at him and then sighing as her eyes fell shut. “I could just stay here, couldn’t I? Getting from the car to the house is going to be way too much effort. Let’s just stay.”

“Well, my, my, Zoe Hart,” said Wade, with laughter in his voice. “Offering to sleep with me on the first date? I did not think you were that kind of girl.”

Zoe laughed loudly, covering her mouth with her hand when she realised quite how loud her outburst had really been. She felt her cheeks burn a little at the very implication of what Wade was saying, but on the whole, she found she didn’t entirely hate the concept.

“Maybe we should get out of the car,” she said then, taking a deep breath and putting herself in motion.

Wade did the same and they came to meet around the front of the vehicle, needing to pass each other in order to get to their respective homes.

“Well, for what it’s worth,” she said, looking up at him, “the parts of the night I did get to spend with you were actually pretty good.”

“Yeah, as sucky first dates go, it wasn’t so bad, was it?” he agreed, meeting her eyes. “I guess all that’s left now is to say goodnight, Zoe Hart.”

“Goodnight, Wade Kinsella,” she replied in kind, afraid to hardly breathe never mind move, for fear that he really would let her walk away without a kiss.

She ought to have known better. Zoe barely had time to process what was happening before Wade’s hand was on the back of her neck and his lips were pressed against her own. It was a good kiss, but brief, sweet even, before he pulled back and smiled at her a moment then walked away. Zoe swallowed hard, took a second to get her bearings and then headed for her own house. She was just opening the front door when she heard Wade calling from across the pond.

“You were serious about that second date, right?”

Zoe looked back at him, unable to keep the grin off her face.

“Serious as all get out!” she yelled back at him in a terrible version of his own accent that made them both laugh.

So maybe their first attempt at going out together hadn’t gone so well, but the night had ended just fine as far as Zoe and Wade were concerned, and apparently, there would be other dates. There was no bad there.


	10. Chapter 10

“Come on, Z, you know you wanna do this,” said Lavon, grinning at her over breakfast. “It’s the next logical step.”

“No, it’s really not,” she insisted, shaking her head. “Lavon, we went on one date - one, singular,” she told him, her pointer finger raised for emphasis. “Yes, it was fun, and yes, we hope to do it again sometime, but Wade and I are... We’re not _sweetie pies_ ,” she said, gagging at the saccharine phrase that she wasn’t sure she would appreciate even if she and Wade had got that far into a real relationship.

Lavon chuckled as he poured himself some more coffee.

“You know, I like this thing with you two,” he said happily. “Never thought I’d see the day when Wade Kinsella would care for a woman the way he does for you, but it happened. Nobody who ever saw the two of you together could doubt what’s between you.”

Zoe was sure she was blushing and so ducked her face behind her hair as she concentrated on her breakfast. Unfortunately, just when she got herself under control, the back door opened and Wade walked in, carrying JT on his hip.

“Howdy, neighbours,” he greeted Lavon and Zoe with a grin, waving JT’s hand at them too. “What’s the news?”

“We was just talkin’ about the upcoming Sweetie Pie Dance,” said Lavon, smiling too widely as he glanced at Zoe who noticeably squirmed.

“You takin’ Didi to that shindig, man?” Wade asked his friend, expertly reaching for a cup and pouring himself a coffee with his one free hand. “I mean, you guys are pretty serious, right?”

“We are an appropriate amount of serious for folks that have been on more than a couple of dates,” Lavon considered. “But in answer to your first question, yes, I do plan on asking her to be my sweetie pie,” he said with a smile then. “You got plans yourself?”

“You ever known me go to that thing yet?” asked Wade, eyes wide with surprise. “Seriously, Lavon, not my idea of a good time.”

“Well, let’s be honest, things in your life have kinda changed a lot in the past month.”

Zoe’s eyes flew back and forth between the two guys like she were at a tennis match, unsure where this conversation was going and not much caring for the panic it was causing in her. She and Wade hadn’t even figured out when their second date would be yet. Quite honestly, she hadn’t seen all that much of him in the days since their first date and the kiss that came after. Mostly they were passing JT back and forth between them, both busy with work when they weren’t tied up taking care of the littlest Kinsella. She sure as heck didn’t want Lavon talking about what was or wasn’t between his two tenants like this.

“Um, I should really get to work,” she said fast, gulping down the last of her coffee and diving from her stool to the door.

“You okay there, doc?” asked Wade, frowning some as he watched her go.

“Yeah, of course,” she said, smiling too wide, nodding too much, and she knew it too. “I, uh...I just have to go, to work, like I said,” she repeated, rushing out the door in the very next second before another word could be said.

Wade continued to frown after she had gone, at least until JT’s flailing arm smacked him right in the face.

“Thank you for that,” he said, smiling at his son anyway. “That you tellin’ me you’re waitin’ on some food, huh?”

“Come on over here to Uncle Lavon, little man,” he said, reaching for the kid. “Free up your Daddy to get you that breakfast.”

Wade thanked him and then moved around the kitchen on autopilot, getting JT’s bottle of formula ready and selecting a tupperware container of food from the fridge too. Lavon watched him work like some kind of expert and marvelled at the scene.

“Look at you,” he said, smiling widely. “You got this dad thing down already.”

“Shows what you know.” Wade rolled his eyes. “This part’s the easy stuff. You know how my boy here gets sometimes, with the grumpy-pants attitude and the not wanting to sleep, ever,” he reminded Lavon of what he was sure he already knew from the number of times he took on his share of babysitting duty. “There are times I am so damn tired, I can’t think straight, and don’t even talk to me about the state of my finances right now,” he said, shaking his head as he took JT and placed him into the high-chair to give him his breakfast.

“Things really that bad?” Lavon frowned, watching father and son together.

“Sometimes,” Wade told him, though all his focus remained on JT and he put on a smile as he helped him with his food. “And sometimes, I look at him and I wonder what the hell my life was for until he come along. Never did think much about having kids before, but it’s true what people tell ya, changes your whole life around, shifts your perspective on just about every damn thing.”

Lavon really didn’t know what to say to that. He had no experience of being a parent himself and he really didn’t have a clue what he was supposed to do for the best about Wade’s money-related problems or general stress levels. Lavon could offer to help, financially as well as in other ways, though as had already been noted, he was doing more than his share of baby minding when both Wade and Zoe were working or too tired to do anything but sleep.

“So, you and Didi, huh?” said Wade then, snapping Lavon from too much serious thought. “Sweetie pies and everything?”

“That’s the idea.” His friend smiled, grabbing the nearest pack of baby wipes and tossing them to Wade when he saw the state JT was getting into with his breakfast. “I had half an idea that maybe you and Zoe-”

“No,” said Wade fast, though Lavon wasn’t sure if that was a response to what he had been saying or his friend giving JT a telling off for tipping up the bowl of porridge and spilling it all over.

Somehow, it seemed better not to ask anymore. It had been kind of fun, messing with Z and making her blush, but Lavon had an idea that Wade might not appreciate jokes about much of anything this morning, least of all whatever may or may not be between him and Zoe.

Lavon never knew Wade get serious about much before, certainly never about women, not even the one he was married too once. Things had changed a lot these past few months, first when Zoe Hart showed up in town, and then again when JT came into all of their lives.

“Well, if you don’t need me here, I got things I oughta be attendin’ to,” he said with a forced smile before he took himself off to his office.

Wade watched him go and then let out a sigh.

“Just about every damn person thinks they know best,” he said, mostly to JT, who hadn’t a clue what was going on and was much more interested in the food. “I’m not sayin’ I don’t appreciate Lavon pitchin’ in to help where he can, and Zoe... well, she’s just... if I had words, I’d use ‘em, but I don’t. All I know for sure, little man, is that I gotta keep doin’ my best by you and everythin’ else is just... everythin’ else,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “I ain’t the greatest father in the world, I know that, and hell if I know how to balance you and work and whatever is happenin’ with me and Zoe and all o’ that. Feel like my head is gonna explode most of the time, but hey, why am I tellin’ you? Not your problem, bubba,” he said, unable to keep from smiling at JT when he happily gulped down another spoonful of his breakfast and immediately looked for more.

Wade jumped a little when he heard the back door close and turned to see Zoe standing there.

“Sorry,” she apologised, looking awkward as he had ever seen her. “I just... My cell.” she said, gesturing to where she had left it behind on the counter. “I didn’t mean to hear anything,” she promised, shaking her head. “I’m sorry.”

Wade ran a hand over his face. “Zoe, I wasn’t-”

“It’s fine. You didn’t know I was there, and the minute I realised that... I should’ve left, which I’ll do now. Sorry... again.”

She was backing towards the door pretty fast and Wade couldn’t exactly go after her, not with JT sitting there. He was pretty safe in the high-chair but still didn’t ought to be left alone.

“Zoe, could you just wait for a second?” he called to her, urging her back towards the counter. “Look, I was just talkin’. There’s a lot of stuff in my head lately and sometimes it just comes out, mostly to my boy here, since I know he can’t fight me on anything or interrupt or whatever,” he said with a smirk. “Makes for a great sounding board. Not so good with the advice though.”

“Is that what you need?” asked Zoe carefully. “Advice, I mean? I’m not saying I have any for you, but I’d like to think that if you needed to talk... Well, you and me, we’ve always been friends, and lately, I thought we were being more than friends, but I understand if you’d rather just-”

He closed the space between them in two strides, one hand behind her head guiding her to him until their lips met. It was a brief moment but he definitely kissed her like he meant it, leaving Zoe in no doubts that he had no wish to go back to just friends at all.

“Zoe,” he said softly as they parted, “if there is one thing I don’t have any doubts on, it’s how I feel about you,” he promised her, even as his hand fell away from her face. “It’s not like I want things to be this complicated, but they are,” he said, glancing back at JT. “I suddenly got me a boatload of grown-up responsibilities and not a whole lot of an idea how to deal with that. I know it prob’ly seems like I got a handle on it, but you know me well enough by now, doc. I talk a good game. Doesn’t mean I always have it all under control.”

Zoe nodded in understanding, perhaps getting exactly what he was saying even more so than he realised.

“My dad... Ethan, he used to use this analogy about a swan. It looks all serene and calm and majestic, floating along on the water, but underneath, what you can’t see is it’s legs kicking like crazy just to stay afloat,” she said with a smile. “That was me, for a long time. It still is sometimes, especially down here in Bluebell. So, I do understand, Wade.”

“Yeah, I guess you do,” he agreed, nodding his head. “It’s just... I don’t wanna screw up, doc. Not with JT, not with you.”

“You won’t,” she assured him, reaching to take a hold of his hand. “Wade, you’re doing your best. Nobody can ask for more than that, and if you need help with JT sometimes, that’s okay. I’m here, Lavon’s here, AB, Rose, so many people. As for you and me, there’s no pressure, okay?” she promised. “I mean, that second date we talked about doesn’t have to be today, or this week, or even this month. When you’re ready, I’m here. I don’t want to make things any harder for you than they need to be.”

It was a heartfelt speech, only slightly spoilt by the smirk that came to Wade’s lips when he took her words in the dirtiest possible way. She rolled her eyes because she knew exactly what he was thinking, knowing he was biting his lip so he wouldn’t actually say it and ruin this moment.

“JT, please don’t grow up to have your daddy’s dirty mind,” she said, looking past Wade to the little boy who gave her a winning smile.

“Come on now,” said Wade, tugging on Zoe’s hand until she tripped forward and landed right up close to him. “You wouldn’t have me any other way, Zoe Hart, and you know it.”

“Maybe I do,” she admitted, stealing a quick kiss. “What I do know is that I’m about to be seriously late for work, and since I just recently actually got a decent number of patients away from Brick, I should try to not do anything to jeopardise that.”

“Go save the world, doc,” said Wade, slapping her on the behind when she turned to go. “That’s my girl.”

“Don’t be a chauvinist like Daddy either, JT!” she called over her shoulder, turning back to poke her tongue out at Wade before she finally left.

JT giggled and made some sound that was not even close to being words. Still, Wade turned to him with a smile.

“You got that right, kid,” he said in all seriousness. “She is somethin’ special, no doubt.”

* * *

As much as Zoe loved having more patients now, it was kind of a whirlwind as one person after another came in to see her. Some had actual conditions that required treatment, or at the very least advice, while a few others seemed to be there for the gossip alone.

Zoe couldn’t mind that too much since most only wanted to know how little JT was doing. Of course, some of the questions Zoe got were about herself and Wade too, which required a little bit of fancy footwork to keep them from being the talk of the whole of Bluebell.

Finally, as the clock got close to midday, Zoe popped her head out into the waiting area.

“Addy, am I okay to take a lunch break?” she checked.

“Far as I can see, you’re free and clear from here until... one-thirty,” she said, consulting the appointment book, “or maybe not,” she amended as the door opened and a man Zoe recognised immediately wandered in.

“Earl, hi,” she greeted him. “Um, did you need an appointment or...?”

“I was hopin’ to talk to you,” he told Zoe, shifting from foot to foot, hands constantly fidgeting for no real reason.

“Okay.” Zoe nodded. “You wanna come this way?”

She shared a look with Addy as Wade’s father passed by her into the office. There was no way to know if this was a professional, medical type visit or if Earl was just here to speak with Zoe about Wade or maybe JT. One thing was for sure, Zoe hadn’t smelt liquor when Earl walked on by and, if she had to guess, she would say the shaking of his hands was probably more likely withdrawal than drunkenness.

“Please, take a seat” she said, gesturing for him to hop up on the end of the bed. “Now,” she continued, perching on the chair, “is this a medical issue or something more personal?” she asked carefully.

“Ah, I guess it’s a little of both,” said Earl with due consideration. “See, uh, you prob’ly realised that I have a bit of a problem with my drinkin’.”

“I did notice that,” said Zoe, nodding her head, 

“’S been so hard to shake with one thing and another,” Earl went on to explain, and Zoe gave him her undivided attention, unsure where this was going but knowing she wanted to help if she could. “I’m guessin’ Wade told you about his momma, my Jackie. And then with Jesse leavin’, and Wade strugglin’ like he has... So much of this is my fault, I know it, and I try. God knows, I have tried,” he said emphatically, before a huge sigh escaped his lips. “I just... I got a grandson to think on now. I wanna be here for my boys. I wanna be Grandpa Earl,” he said with a wobbly smile.

“I’m sure you’ll be a great grandfather, Earl,” said Zoe, her hand briefly on his knee. “I’m sure Wade thinks so too.”

“Maybe so.” Earl nodded. “But if I’m gonna be everythin’ that they both need, Wade and little John-Thomas, then I gotta get myself straight, doc, and I’m gonna need some real help to do that. So, can you help me, Dr Hart? Please?”


	11. Chapter 11

“Lavon, you’re prob’ly worryin’ on nothin’,” Wade tried to assured him. “I mean, come on now, what guy is gonna stand a chance against you, huh? If Didi thinks she can do better than Lavon Hayes, then that is her problem.”

“Maybe,” his friend agreed, though he didn’t look any happier about the situation than he had before. “All I know is, her ex is back in town and makin’ a play for her. I been here before and it ain’t a fun place to be standin’,” he admitted with a sigh.

“Knock, knock,” said a voice as the back door opened and Rose’s face appeared. “Is the coast clear?”

“Hey, Rosie,” said Wade with a smile, bouncing JT in his arms and getting the kid to pay attention. “Look who come to see ya, bubba.”

“Hey, JT.” Rose smiled widely as she came to take him out of Wade’s arms and give him a hug. “You’re gonna be spending some time with me tonight. Can you say sleepover?”

“Sleepover?” said Lavon, eyebrows raised as he looked over at Wade. “I thought this was just a fancy dinner date.”

“Pull your mind on up outta the gutter, man,” his friend told him firmly. “Rose’s parents went away this weekend, so she’s stayin’ with Zoe tonight. She very kindly said she would have JT with her at Zoe’s place while me and the doc have us some dinner at my house. Rose is the one doin’ the sleeping over, nobody else,” he said pointedly.

“Uh-huh.” Lavon nodded, though he didn’t look entirely convinced.

Not that he was about to say anything to screw up this night for Wade or anybody. After all, he had spent long enough planning it. After all the talk about the Sweetie Pie dance and everything, it seemed to be firmly established that Wade and Zoe would not be attending, since they just weren’t at that point yet. Still, something sparked an idea in Wade’s head that he wanted to do something special for Zoe. Probably all the help she had been giving him lately with JT, and maybe also the fact that their first attempt at a date hadn’t run so smooth. He came up with the idea of a dinner date over at his place and the night of the dance worked out just right, what with Rose staying over and playing babysitter and all.

“So, you sure you got the food covered, man?” Lavon asked then, watching Wade move around the kitchen now he had JT off his hands.

“Pretty sure,” his friend agreed, nodding his head, “and thank you again for-”

“Do not even mention it,” said Lavon, literally waving away his concerns with both hands.

“I will pay you back,” said Wade definitely.

“We’ll figure that out later, no big deal,” Lavon promised.

Wade didn’t argue anymore, though his friend suspected that was mostly because Rose and JT were there. Money was a major problem right now, that much he had admitted to. It was why Lavon had lent Wade the money to buy what he needed for his meal with Zoe tonight, which was mostly just the food and wine, since Lavon was also lending him the table cloth, candles, and everything else. He must have told him at least a hundred times how grateful he was, but Lavon had told him easily that was just what friends were for.

“You wanna hang out here a while, Rosie?” Wade said over his shoulder as he set to cooking the meal that would then need transporting to the gatehouse later.

“Sure, no problem,” she agreed easily, distracted as she was in entertaining JT.

“I just figure if Zoe comes home unexpectedly and finds you with my boy, she’s gonna wanna know why, and I can’t really have you in the gatehouse now the table’s all set and everything.”

“Wade, it’s fine,” she promised him. “Wherever you want us to be, we’ll be. All that you’re doin’ to make this night special for Zoe, I think it’s the most romantic thing,” she gushed the way only fourteen-year-old girls could. “Anything I can do to help is just fine by me.”

“You’re a good girl,” Wade told her, turning to face her. “I mean it, thank you, Rose, ‘specially since I can’t exactly pay you-”

“I wouldn’t take any money if you offered it to me,” she said determinedly. “I don’t need payin’ to hang out with my favourite little guy, do I, huh?” she said more to JT than his father. “You and me are goin’ to have such a fun time.”

“You want to make the living room your own for a while, Rose, you go right ahead,” Lavon advised her. “A whole bunch of JT’s stuff is in the cabinet in there for when he stays over, you should be all good until you transfer to the carriage house later.”

“Sounds good,” she said smiling as she turned so JT was facing the guys. “Say, ‘See you later, Daddy. See you later, Uncle Lavon’,” she said, waving the little boy’s hand at them both as she carried him away.

“Everybody wants to be so damn helpful.” Wade shook his head. “God knows what I did to deserve it.”

“Hey, I don’t know why you have it in your head that you’re not worthy, man, but you need to get over that already,” Lavon told him firmly.

“Says the man who reckons his girlfriend is just obviously gonna dump his ass for her ex,” said Wade, smirking hard as he looked at his friend.

Lavon took that in for a moment and then chuckled when he realised how right he was. “Touché. Maybe we both oughta have just a little more confidence, huh?”

“Maybe,” Wade agreed. “Now, don’t take this the wrong way, but could you get outta your kitchen so I can cook this meal already?”

“Yes, sir,” Lavon agreed, grinning as he headed out.

For all the worries he had about his own love life, he thought it was kind of nice to see Wade making such an effort for Zoe. Those two were oddly perfect for each other, as far as Lavon could tell, and he wished them all the luck in the world.

* * *

When Zoe pulled the car up outside the carriage house, she was surprised to see Wade waiting for her on the porch, especially since he looked pretty dressed up.

“Hey,” she said as she approached. “What’s going on?”

“What’s going on is I’m pretty sure I owe you some kind of a real date, Dr Hart,” he told her, as they met at the bottom of the porch steps.

“Oh, Wade, I thought we said we weren’t going to that dance-”

“I’m not talking about the Sweetie Pie Dance, doc,” he insisted fast, clearly realising she was going to get a little hypersonic about it - that was a good call. “I am talking about dinner at my place. Now, I know you got Rose staying over with you tonight, but that is all taken care of. She has JT right with her at Lavon’s place for as long as it takes you to get yourself into whichever dress you feel like wearing, then she’s on babysitting duty right here at the carriage house until we’re done with our date in the gatehouse. I cooked and everything. That sound good?”

“It sounds amazing,” Zoe assured him, wide-eyed with surprise but smiling happily nonetheless. “How did you even find the time? How did you...?” she stopped short of asking how he was affording it in the circumstances, thinking better of it at the last moment. “Um, I’m officially speechless.”

“I will take that as a compliment,” Wade told her with a grin. “Now, since I doubt you can look all that much better than you already do, you got a half hour to get yourself ready, okay?”

“Okay,” she agreed, watching him suddenly rush away back towards Lavon’s place. “And Wade?”

“Yeah?” he replied, turning back to look at her.

“Thank you,” she told him, smiling wide.

“Wait ‘til you taste the food first, doc. You might not be so thankful,” he joked before rushing off.

Zoe shook her head, still laughing as she went inside to get changed. Half an hour really wasn’t much time to prepare for a date, but she liked Wade’s compliment that she shouldn’t need long given how good she already looked. Thankfully, she had given some thought to a potential second date with Wade and had a couple of outfits in mind. She had herself a quick shower and chose one dress over the other in a minute, sliding into the cute little Chloe that couldn’t fail to impress and zipping it up. She didn’t have time to do too much with her hair and makeup, but since they weren’t exactly going out, Zoe figured it wouldn’t matter much. She wanted to look nice for Wade, of course she did, but somehow, she didn’t think he cared if she made a super-effort of not. She believed that he liked her for more than her looks, after all.

Stepping out onto the porch, Zoe saw all the lights were on at the gatehouse, both inside the house, and outside in multi-coloured strands along the railing. As if he sensed her presence, Wade stepped out of the door and smiled at her from the other side of the pond.

“Stay right there,” he told her, startling Zoe just a little, though she did as he said.

A minute later, he was right there with her, eyes wide as he looked her over.

“I stand corrected,” he said in apparent awe. “You can look even more beautiful.”

“Well, thank you, kind sir,” she joked, somehow finding it easier than being serious when he was looking at her like that.

It wasn’t that she didn’t appreciate that he wanted to stare at her and tell her she looked good. Zoe knew she’d be crazy to not want that kind of attention from a guy she liked, but it threw her off a little bit.

“Come on over to my place, doc,” said Wade then, putting his arm around her shoulders as they walked around the pond.

Zoe was smiling but inside her mind was racing a little. This whole surprise second date thing was a sweet idea, but she really hadn’t been ready for it, not even a little. Things with her and Wade were so undefined lately, which she was okay with in a lot of ways. They didn’t have to put a label on what they were to each other, and yet, Zoe wasn’t entirely comfortable not knowing where she stood either. She knew Wade liked her and she liked him. She didn’t have to worry about him seeing other girls because JT pretty much made sure of that, but she wondered if things would be different if Wade didn’t have a six-month-old son.

“You okay?” he asked as they reached the gatehouse.

Zoe realised her confusing thoughts must be showing on her face and quickly shook them off.

“I’m fine,” she promised. “I was just...”

She stopped short of giving any real explanation when Wade opened the door and she saw the table perfectly set for a meal for two. The other furniture and all of JT’s stuff had been shoved aside for the occasion and it was the most romantic thing. Zoe could hardly believe Wade had done all of this for her.

“It ain’t much,” he told her modestly, rubbing the back of his neck. “I can cook and all, but it ain’t exactly what I’m best at. Still, I did what I could, doc, so I hope you like it.”

“It all looks wonderful, Wade,” she told him honestly. “You really shouldn’t have gone to so much trouble. You have enough to do with work and JT and-”

Zoe was startled when he silenced her with a kiss, but she couldn’t complain at all. He really was very good at that.

“How about we sit down and eat now?” he asked then.

“Sounds good,” Zoe agreed, thanking him when he pulled out the chair for her.

Wade as a father had been a surprise. Wade as a gentleman was maybe even more of a revelation, but Zoe liked it a lot, and was very proud to have inspired him to it.

* * *

“So, better than the first date?” asked Wade nervously when he and Zoe were both done eating.

“Much better,” she admitted, smiling across at him, fingers playing absently with the stem of her wine glass. “I had no idea you could be this way, Wade Kinsella.”

“This way?” he echoed, staring at her curiously. “What’s that mean?”

“I don’t know. Serious, romantic,” she told him, seeming to blush even as the words left her mouth. “Come on, when we first met, you have to admit, you came off a little... well, don’t take this the wrong way, but you were kind of an ass.”

Wade hadn’t exactly been enjoying the wine he bought just for Zoe’s benefit, but he hadn’t really meant to go spitting it back into the glass the way he did then. He wasn’t sure whether he was more offended or amused by Zoe’s description of him, but he couldn’t have swallowed his mouthful for anything when he heard her say it.

“Wow,” he said, coughing a little. “That’s some opinion you have of me, doc.”

“I don’t have it now,” she said, rolling her eyes, clearly trying not to laugh by now. “Hey, I’m willing to admit I wasn’t exactly my best self when we met either. What a difference a few months makes, huh?”

“Oh, yeah.” Wade sighed then. “You can say that again. Never expected to be sittin’ here surrounded by a crib and a pile of diapers at this point in my life. Still, tough as it is sometimes, I can’t ever regret my boy showing up like he did.”

A strange smile was spreading over Zoe’s face when he looked at her then. Wade couldn’t quite figure out what it was for and so went ahead and asked her.

“You,” she told him honestly. “You have this reputation around town, you seem to love that you do, but it’s not for real. I see how you are, Wade Kinsella. You love your son, you love your father. You care about people and you’re a really good guy.”

“Hey, don’t you go sayin’ that too loud. Like you said, I got a rep to protect,” he told her, smirking hard.

Zoe laughed and rolled her eyes. “I was being serious,” she told him anyway.

“You think I wasn’t?” he teased her, getting up from his seat and holding out a hand to her. “Come on now, doc, enough talking. I know this ain’t exactly a fancy location, but we ain’t gotta be where all them other couples are to have a dance, right?”

“You’re asking me to dance?” she checked, frowning slightly. “There’s no music.”

“In classy joints like this, you dance to the atmosphere,” he told her, taking a hold of her hand and pulling her to her feet before she could argue anymore.

Zoe smiled and stepped into his arms without further protest. She felt a little silly at first, but as she and Wade moved in their own silent slow dance, it didn’t seem so bad. Actually, it felt pretty good. She started to wonder why she was ever so worried on the way over here for this date. She meant what she said before, Wade was a great guy and the only changes she had seen in him these past few months were for the better. Maybe they weren’t even changes exactly, maybe she just got to know him better and that made the difference. Maybe this was always what Wade was like underneath it all.

“What’s on your mind, doc?” he asked, clearly noticing how thoughtful she had gotten again.

When he looked at her like that, his eyes locked onto her own, he didn’t just take her breath away, he chased every thought out of her head too.

“Not much,” she admitted. “Just... thank you for tonight, Wade,” she said then, hands clasped tightly behind his neck. “It’s been the most amazing night... and you didn’t even know it was my birthday.”

“It’s your birthday?” he asked wide-eyed. “Doc, I didn’t-”

“I don’t really celebrate it or anything,” Zoe told him fast, “but if I did, I don’t think it could get better than this.”

Wade nodded his head slightly and then he was leaning closer and Zoe felt herself pushing up onto her toes to meet him. It was just supposed to be a simple kiss, a goodnight kiss or a thank you maybe, so she tried to tell herself, but Zoe couldn’t bring herself to pull away at all, and when Wade seemed to try to do so, she couldn’t bear to let him.

Somewhere along the line they landed on the couch together, hands everywhere, lips trailing kisses on any exposed skin they could find. Maybe they were being stupid, Zoe was sure she had to be losing her mind, but it felt so good, she wasn’t entirely sure that she cared. Certainly, Wade didn’t seem to be arguing with the direction of travel.

“Zoe! Wade!”

Rose’s voice came loud and clear, not to mention full of panic, from the other side of the pond.

“Oh, my God!” “Oh, hell, no!”

Zoe and Wade spoke over each other as they disentangled themselves, leaping up from the couch, and taking off at a run, Wade in the lead as Zoe paused to whip off her heels before she gave chase. She arrived at the carriage house door a beat or two after Wade burst through it. Rose was talking a mile a minute and JT was screaming like the world was ending from Wade’s arms.

“What happened?” Zoe gasped breathlessly.

“I swear I don’t know,” Rose told her, crying hard by now. “I must’ve dozed off on the couch, but he was fine before. I woke up to him screaming and crying. He’s burning up and he has this rash. Oh, God, is it bad?”

“Let me see,” she urged Wade until he handed over his son. “Okay, JT. It’s okay, it’s okay,” she told him, much as his daddy had been trying to do, for all the good it had done.

Zoe laid JT on the bed and checked him over. Rose was right, he was a little too hot and he did have a rash, but it disappeared with pressure applied, which counted out meningitis at least. Trying not to think about whose child she was looking over, Zoe put her doctor head on and worked quickly to figure out what was happening. A minute later she stepped back and sighed.

“He’s fine,” she promised Wade and Rose both. “I promise, he is going to be fine. He’s pretty hot and sweaty, but that’s all. He’s just a little overheated, that’s a heat rash, nothing worse.”

“You’re sure, doc?” Wade asked, ashen-faced with panic when she glanced at him.

“I’m 99% sure,” she told him. “Honestly, what he really needs is a cool bath, some clean clothes, and a good night’s rest. If he won’t settle because he’s feeling sore and uncomfortable, you can give him some liquid Tylenol but I’ll be amazed if he’s not pretty much fine by the morning.”

“I’m so sorry,” Rose said, blowing her nose. “I didn’t mean to spoil your date or freak you guys out. I just... I panicked, I guess.”

“No problem, Rosie girl,” Wade promised her, scooping JT back up into his arms and giving him a hug. “Better you panic when there’s no trouble than let something bad go on gettin’ worse, I guess.”

“He’s right, Rose,” said Zoe, moving to hug her young friend. “You did the best thing. You weren’t sure, so you called for help. Nobody’s mad about that.”

“I should get him home now, see about that cool bath and clean clothes, like you said,” said Wade, heading for the door.

“I’ll walk you out,” said Zoe, giving Rose one last squeeze of the shoulders before she followed Wade to the door.

JT had already quieted down some, probably because his daddy was there, but he clearly wasn’t feeling great still.

“Not exactly how I saw this night panning out,” said Wade with a look the moment they reached the porch.

“Me either,” Zoe admitted.

“Zoe, about before...”

“Not now,” she said, shaking her head. “Go take care of him,” she advised Wade. “We’ll figure everything else out later.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Wade nodded, leaning down to plant a kiss on her forehead. “G’night, Zoe.”

“Goodnight, Wade,” she replied, smiling as she watched him walk away.

No, their date had not ended how she thought it would and she was sorry JT was feeling bad, but for the most part, she had to admit, it had been a really nice night.


	12. Chapter 12

“This is not mine,” said Lemon Breeland, frowning hard at the shot glass full of bourbon in front of her on the bar. “Wade Kinsella, in what world would this ever be what I ordered?”

“Never mind what you ordered, Lemon,” he told her with a look. “Trust me when I tell you, it’s what you need. Good for what ails ya.”

She opened her mouth to make further protests but they both knew better than to think she was actually going to argue. Wade was right and so Lemon drank down her shot, shuddering as it burned her throat.

“Atta girl,” said Wade, smirking as he leaned on the bar close by her. “Now, you wanna tell me just exactly what has you ordering any kind of drinks at this time o’ the day?”

Lemon’s attention was very much focused on the empty glass still at her hand as she turned it around and around in place. There was plenty on her mind, Wade knew the signs, but the strange part was that she brought her problems to the bar like this. Most times, he knew she would turn to good old George Tucker with her troubles, or maybe her best girl-friend, Annabeth Nass. It had been a fair while since Lemon told Wade anything in confidence, but things were changing left and right these past few weeks, so he figured he may as well ask.

“This mood o’ yours wouldn’t happen to have anythin’ to do with your pending nuptials, now would it?” he asked, quiet enough that nobody but Lemon would hear.

When her eyes suddenly shot up to meet his, Wade knew he was right.

“What did you hear?” she asked sharply.

“Not a thing.” Wade shook his head. “But you wanna tell me anythin’, you know I’ll listen.”

Lemon stared at him a while, eyeing him like she was trying to read the thoughts out of his head or some such. He let her try, mostly because it was amusing as hell to see her come up empty.

“Why?” she asked eventually. “I mean, why all of a sudden is Wade Kinsella so eager to be my own personal Dr Phil? As if you’d be remotely qualified,” she added snippily.

Wade left the barb bounce off and gave her a winning smile.

“It’s been a while, Lemon, but you and me, we used to be friends once upon a time,” he reminded her. “’Sides, this town’s been pullin’ together to help me out of late, in every which way you can name. I figure if I can pass along the kindness, I probably should. Like, good karma and all that stuff, right?”

Lemon smiled just a little then went right back to staring down into her glass. Just when Wade was going to prompt her to say something, she looked left and right, as if checking to see who might be listening in. It didn’t take a genius to realise that whatever she might want to talk out was not for public consumption.

“Listen,” said Wade then, “I got about ten minutes ‘til I can get outta here. I’m pickin’ up my boy but then I got no real plans for the rest of the afternoon. How ‘bout you come along with me and JT, we’ll drive outside the limits of Bluebell and you can tell me whatever’s causing that frown that’ll only end up givin’ you wrinkles to complain about in the long-run.”

Lemon adjusted her expression the moment he said that, one hand going absently to her forehead. Wade half-expected her to tell him where to shove his offer, but at the same time, he figured if Lemon was in a bad enough way to drink shots of bourbon at two in the afternoon, she was probably desperate enough to tell him all her problems.

“Your son doesn’t care for my company,” she said eventually.

“Geez, Lemon, the kid is seven months old.” Wade rolled his eyes. “He doesn’t give a damn whether he has your company or not.”

“He screams blue murder whenever he’s within five feet of me.”

“Yeah, well, you’ve been known to have that effect on people, me included. Never bothered you before,” he told her with a wicked smirk.

Her hand went back as if to smack him but Wade evaded before she quite managed to make contact, and then he laughed at her for good measure. To her credit, Lemon did laugh too, even if she did also roll her eyes.

“I guess it wouldn’t be so bad to have someone neutral to talk to,” she conceded with a sigh. “Someone who is in no position to judge me at all.”

Wade grinned at that remark. “Nice to know the real Lemon Breeland is still in there someplace,” he told her happily. “Ten minutes,” he said, pointing at her, before heading down the bar to serve some more patrons until his shift was finally over.

* * *

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Zoe asked George just as soon as Mr Sunberg and his wife were gone from the exam room. “You seem kind of distracted today.”

“Sorry, I’m just... I got a lot on my mind, I guess,” he told her, shaking his head.

“Anything you want to talk about?”

“It’s not medical.”

“I wasn’t really asking as a doctor.” Zoe smiled. “If you just needed a friend...” she said, trailing off as she watched his expression shift through at least four different emotions before it settled on a vague sort of a smile.

“I appreciate that, Zoe, I really do,” he assured her, “but I’ll be just fine. I, uh... I might be seein’ things, but when we were on our way over here, I could’ve sworn I saw Wade driving out of town with Lemon in the passenger side.”

“Oh.” Zoe frowned. “Well, maybe she’s helping him out with JT or something. She has to be good with kids, right? I mean, she mostly raised Magnolia single-handedly, from what I heard.”

“She did, and that could be it, I guess,” George considered. “Not like there would be anything weird going on with Lemon and Wade,” he said, forcing a laugh.

Zoe chuckled too, hoping he was right. The whole situation made her feel a little strange though. Lemon and Wade? It just seemed so unnatural.

* * *

“See, now, you’re a natural, Lemon,” Wade told her, watching her bounce JT on her knees and making the kid grin big. “But then I guess you oughta be after you just about raised your sister up all by yourself.”

“He is a sweet child,” she admitted, smiling at the little boy in her lap

“Wasn’t quite so sweet when he was yelling loud enough to wake the dead over the heat rash he had a few days back,” Wade pointed out. “But he’s alright, I guess.”

“Well, I think he’s very sweet. Yes, you are,” Lemon told JT, hugging him close. “’Course, how you came to be so with a daddy like you have, I will never know,” she said, smirking across the booth at Wade.

“Don’t ask me, I ain’t got a clue either,” he told her, hands held up in mock surrender.

“Certainly, he doesn’t get it from his mother,” Lemon said definitely. “I remember Carrie-Sue Smith of old. Sweet is not a word I would use for her, especially not now,” she said, looking down at JT who was currently fascinated by her necklace.

“Yeah, well, we didn’t come all the way to a diner in Fairhope to talk about my ex,” Wade reminded her, dumping the remains of his chicken back into the basket and wiping his hands on his jeans. “Seems to me maybe it’s your fiancé that’s the trouble.”

Lemon kept her eyes on JT for a long time before finally looking up at Wade and sighing.

“I’m probably making somethin’ outta nothing,’” she admitted. “I mean, George hasn’t said anything to you about the wedding, has he?”

“Not much.” Wade shrugged. “’Course I don’t see much of him of late. I’m usually working or taking care of my boy.”

“Or spending time with Zoe Hart,” Lemon added with a look. “You two seem awfully close these days.”

“I guess you could say that we are.” Wade grinned, though he tried to keep it down to a dull roar in the circumstances. “Figured that oughta make you happy enough. Seems to me your biggest problem with Zoe was you thought she was out to take your man. Now you got proof enough she ain’t gonna go all Jolene on ya-”

“George would never leave me for Zoe Hart!” said Lemon definitely, though something in her expression and tone betrayed her. “She is just... Well, she is not the right kind of woman for my George. Of course, it is startin’ to seem as if maybe I’m not either.”

There were tears in her eyes as she handed JT over the table into his daddy’s arms. Immediately, she grabbed at napkins and dabbed at her eyes before her mascara ever had a chance to run.

Wade bit his lip. “Come on now, Lemon,” he said then, awkward as hell if she was actually going to start crying on him. “There’s no way in hell that Golden Boy George Tucker cheated on you with anyone, I do know that much.”

“No, I know he wouldn’t ever do that,” she admitted, sniffling a little, “but that doesn’t mean he still wants to marry me. You know, he lost the Save The Date cards for our wedding? I found out about it the night of the Sweetie Pie Dance and... and when I asked him about it, he told me he was feelin’... well, uncertain about things.”

“Ain’t cold feet pretty normal for folks this close to a weddin’?” asked Wade, putting JT back into the highchair.

“I wish cold feet was all it was.” Lemon sighed. “And I wish it was all on George’s side.”

Her eyes met Wade’s own just for a second before she very definitely looked away. She smiled as she watched JT pick up a piece of food and put it into his mouth, happily munching it into his submission with his lack of teeth. It was tough not to be amused by the kid, Wade knew, but Lemon was still hurting on the inside, even as her face showed happiness. If she was having second thoughts about her wedding too, he’d bet every cent he had that he could guess why.

“So, that whole thing with you and Lavon, it’s not so over as it seemed, huh?”

Wade usually would’ve laughed at the expression on Lemon’s face then, all-out shock with a side of panic, but on this particular occasion it wasn’t all that funny.

“Come on now,” he said, seeing all the questions written in her expression long before she found a way to actually ask them. “I know I was never the sharpest knife in the drawer when we were kids, Lemon, but I am not _that_ stupid. I live in the gatehouse on that plantation, I use the kitchen up at the main house, and I am not blind nor deaf,” he reminded her.

“That bein’ the case, then you would know that Lavon and I have not... been seein’ each other in quite some time,” she said as diplomatically as possible.

“I do know that.” Wade nodded. “But somethin’ tells me he’s still on your mind.”

Lemon put a hand to her forehead, looking like she had a heck of a headache coming on. She picked up her soda and took a long drink, seeming to need to compose herself again before she could go on.

“Please tell me that Zoe Hart does not know about any of this.”

“I never told her.” Wade shook his head. “Can’t say as Lavon never did, but I’m guessin’ prob’ly not. You know, you really gotta stop thinkin’ Zoe’s life revolves around you, Lemon. It doesn’t.”

“Because it revolves around you now?” she asked then, one perfect eyebrow raised.

Wade shook his head. “Zoe’s a doctor before she’s anything else, and she loves JT something fierce, but... Look, we’re not here to talk about Zoe or me or anybody else. You got problems, Lemon, and I, like a crazy fool, offered to listen to ‘em,” he reminded her, with that good old Wade Kinsella smile that sometimes worked even on the likes of Lemon Breeland. “So, let’s have the whole story, see if you don’t at least feel better for the tellin’ of it.”

Lemon heaved a great sigh. “Fine, I’ll tell you everything,” she conceded. “But you have to swear, Wade Kinsella, on everythin’ you hold dear, that you will never speak a word of this to another living soul,” she said firmly.

Wade’s eyes strayed to JT just as the little boy grinned big then shoved another piece of food into his mouth.

“I swear,” he promised, knowing Lemon couldn’t doubt him now.

She didn’t, and so, she told him everything.


	13. Chapter 13

“You’re very quiet tonight, which is weird,” said Zoe, shifting away from Wade on the couch so she could properly see his face. “For a while, I thought you were actually asleep.”

“Think maybe somewhere in there I actually was,” he told her, rubbing at his eyes. “Either that or your movie there made not a lick o’ sense,” he said, gesturing towards the TV where the credits were rolling.

“Yeah, I guess a rom-com wasn’t the best choice, but you vetoed movies with subtitles, and one of your action thrillers would’ve been boring for me, plus it would’ve woken JT,” she said softly, highly aware of the baby sleeping soundly in his crib just a few feet away.

Wade looked like he was set to join his son in peaceful slumber at any moment.

“I’m sorry,” said Zoe, causing his eyes to open very fast and a frown to crease his brow. “I should’ve let you sleep instead of suggesting a date night. When you finally get some time to yourself, you need to rest.”

“I’m feelin’ all kinds of restful right here, thank you, doc,” he told her, pulling her closer and settling down amongst the cushions, as if falling asleep with Zoe in his arms would be just fine.

“I’m not denying this is all very comfortable,” she said with a happy sigh, her head resting on his chest, “but I’m not sure sleeping on the couch is a good plan.”

Wade opened one eye and peered down at her. “I got another place in mind.”

“And it’s time for me to go,” said Zoe, standing up fast, slipping out of Wade’s grip before he had a chance to protest at all.

She didn’t want to come off prudish or anything. It seemed as if it ought to be impossible for her, after their date on the night of the Sweetie Pie Dance. Something pretty significant could easily have happened then, if not for Rose and JT having an emergency at the carriage house. It almost made Zoe glad they were interrupted, and yet, at the same time, she had been left a little disappointed too.

“You know, doc, I was just foolin’ around,” Wade assured her as he followed her to the door. “I didn’t mean to-”

“I know,” she assured him, leaning up to kiss his lips. “Come on, you know it’s not as if I’m not tempted, but tonight’s not the night. Not with JT here and, don’t take this the wrong way, but I highly doubt you’d be bringing your A Game, Mr Sleepyhead,” she teased him gently.

“Yeah, maybe you got a point,” Wade admitted, fighting hard to keep his eyes open even now. “’Course, even my B Game is pretty good,” he said, smirking terribly.

Zoe laughed too loudly and quickly covered her mouth when she realised what she had done. Thankfully, JT didn’t seem to stir at all.

“I should go,” she said softly. “Get some sleep, Wade Kinsella,” she told him then. “That’s doctor’s orders.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he agreed, taking her face in his hands and kissing her deeply. “Sweet dreams, doc.”

“Oh yeah,” she said breathlessly, finally turning to go.

As Zoe tripped down the porch steps and headed home around the pond, she wrapped her arms around herself, feeling a bite in the breeze. At night, even Alabama got chillier than during the daylight hours, but Zoe was sure it had never felt like this. She tilted her head towards the sky and saw a lot more clouds than she expected to. Maybe rain was coming, but she almost thought they looked more like storm clouds, perhaps even snowstorm clouds?

“No,” she muttered to herself. “That would be crazy.”

* * *

“This is officially a crazy day!”

Lavon looked up from his breakfast and very nearly managed a smile when he saw the expression on Zoe’s face.

“’Mornin, Z,” he greeted her. “Guessed you’d be a little thrown by the weather outside.”

“A _little_ thrown?” Zoe blinked, coming closer to the counter. “Lavon, it’s snowing. In Alabama!” she over-emphasised. “By the looks of things, it’s been coming down for a while. How is this possible?”

“I’m willing to admit, a snow day in Bluebell is a rare thing.” Lavon nodded. “Good thing too, given how bad things can get. Not that I really believe they can get much worse right now,” he said with a sigh, dumping his spoon down into the cereal bowl with a clang.

“Aww, poor Lavon,” Zoe sympathised, moving to put her arms around him in a strange side hug and giving him a squeeze. “I’m so sorry about Didi.”

It was an awful mess of a situation, but Zoe kind of hoped that Lavon didn’t want to talk to her about it anymore. If he really had to, then she would listen. He was her best friend after all and she owed him a lot, but truthfully, Zoe was having terrible trouble wrapping her head around the whole concept of Lavon and Lemon having been together. Fortunately, Didi had agreed not to tell anyone what she knew about the affair she had inadvertently discovered, but she also couldn’t be with Lavon anymore now she knew. She had left town pretty swiftly, leaving a very sad Lavon Hayes in her wake.

“Gets worse yet,” he grumbled. “My parents were supposed to come visit but the snow stopped their flight. So, you won’t be meeting good old Ernie and Carolyn after all.”

“Oh, that sucks.” Zoe sighed. “But they’ll come visiting again some other time, right? There will be other days, Lavon, good days, I promise. I’m sorry today isn’t one of them for you.”

“Won’t be a good day for anyone,” he told her then, getting up to dump his bowl and spoon into the sink. “There has never been a snow day in Bluebell that has not resulted in disaster, destruction, and downright bad things all around.”

“Come on, it cannot be that bad,” said Zoe with a smile that only wavered when she realised how serious Lavon was looking about this. “Seriously?”

“Bad things,” he repeated with a look. “You’d do better to just go home, climb back into your bed, and sleep until all the snow has melted away. ‘S what I’d do, if I didn’t have my mayoral duties and such.”

With a great heaving sigh, Lavon shuffled off to his office, leaving Zoe alone to wonder what she was going to do about breakfast. Clearly her friend hadn’t been in the mood to make eggs or even brew coffee. Thankfully, the pastries box was present on the counter, so all was not lost.

“Okay, I got this,” she muttered to herself, grabbing a tray and gathering together everything she needed to take breakfast over to the Kinsella boys.

Ten minutes later, she was picking her way around the pond, glad she put on her boots rather than any kind of heels as she headed over to see Wade and JT. The porch steps were slippery as anything and it was tough to see exactly where she was going with the heavy tray between her hands. Finally, outside Wade’s door, she realised she didn’t have a hand to knock with. Turning around, she tried to put the tray on the table there, only to drop it down with a clang when Wade suddenly spoke.

“Mornin’, doc,” he greeted her loudly. “Oops?” he added when she turned to glare at him.

“Good morning, Wade,” she said, fighting a smile at his ‘aww shucks, did I do that?’ expression. “I guess Lavon did warn me that nothing goes according to the plan on a snow day in Bluebell.”

“Yeah, there does seem to be more’n a fair share of bad luck goin’ around town when the snow comes down,” he agreed, stepping around Zoe to grab the tray for her and following her into the gatehouse. “’Course, I figure Lavon got his share before the weather changed, what with Didi leaving like she did. He ever tell you how that happened? ‘Cause last I saw, those two were close as cat’s breath.”

“Oh, um, well, she just decided they didn’t belong together, I guess,” said Zoe awkwardly, fingers twisting together in front of her. “You know, sometimes you just wake up one day and realise it’s not going to work out.”

Wade stared at her, head tilting slightly as he tried to figure out why she seemed so damn awkward all of a sudden. There was a nervous feeling somewhere deep in his stomach, a hint of panic that she was about to say she had the same feeling that Didi seem to have gotten, that this whole thing with the two of them wasn’t working for her either. Of course, he was also wondering on all that Lemon told him last week about her and George Tucker and Lavon, that whole triangle that most folks had no idea ever existed at all.

“Hey, little man,” said Zoe then, grinning as she approached JT’s crib and lifted him out with ease. “You know what’s happening outside? Do you?” she asked, carrying him over to the window to see. “That’s snow. Real live snow. You’re not going to see much of that down here in Alabama, so you better make the most of it. Now, in New York, where I’m from, we get a lot of snow, every winter, and as much as it’s a pain in the butt sometimes, it is so beautiful. I just love it.”

“Yeah, well, ‘Bama snow is a whole different concept, doc,” said Wade from behind her, trying to dry out the pastries that had got doused with coffee when Zoe dropped the breakfast tray and checking the tub of yoghurt she brought for JT was still good. “What Lavon told you is true enough, bad things happen around here when your good buddy the snow shows up.”

“That is just superstitious nonsense,” said Zoe smartly. “I am a woman of science and I know that snowy weather cannot make bad things happen... unless it’s people slipping over on the ice, or cars skidding in bad conditions. Those things it can cause, but nothing else.”

“Whatever you say, doc.” Wade smiled, knowing there was no use arguing. “Rule number one, JT,” he said, reaching to take his boy from Zoe. “Never argue with a beautiful woman. It is just not worth the effort.”

Zoe felt her cheeks turn pink at the unexpected compliment. It was one thing to know that Wade thought she was attractive, to imply she was hot or sexy or whatever, but ‘beautiful’ was pretty special.

Before she had a chance to get her bearings from that, her cell started to ring in her pocket. Wade took JT off her hands and had the kid changed out of his PJs and into the high chair before Zoe got got done with her call.

“There goes breakfast,” she said with a sigh. “Apparently, Brick has taken a knock to the head somehow, so they need me at the practice, right now.”

“Well, thank you for the delivery, doc,” said Wade. “We all appreciate it,” he told her, speaking on behalf of JT and himself.

“You boys enjoy,” she told them, leaning in to kiss JT goodbye.

“Can I get one o’ those?” asked Wade with a smirk.

Zoe didn’t hesitate in giving him a very different kind of kiss. “I’ll see you later?”

“Sounds good to me, doc,” he agreed, smiling as he watched her leave.

So much for bad things happening, the day had started pretty well as far as Wade could tell.

* * *

Zoe had been so reluctant to believe in the Bluebell theory that snow equals disaster, and yet, as the day wore on, she had to admit, it did seem to prove itself to be true. From Brick getting hit in the head and suffering dizzy spells all day, to what felt like a hundred other patients filing through the practice with such a myriad of illnesses and injuries, Zoe hardly knew which way to turn.

When she finally got a chance, she ran out to the Butter Stick to grab a sandwich and maybe a pastry, but Zoe soon realised her work was not done. Though there were very few people in town, most staying inside to avoid the snow, one familar face had ventured out.

“George?”

“Oh, hey, Zoe,” he said with a smile that didn’t look too genuine as she came over to his table. “You doin’ okay?”

“Me? I’m fine,” she insisted, waving away his concern. “I’m more worried about you,” she admitted, dropping down into the chair opposite. “Are you feeling okay?”

“I’m just... I honestly don’t know what I’m feelin’ right now,” George admitted, shaking his head. “But, come on, you don’t wanna hear my problems.”

He got up from the table, chair scraping against the floor as he moved towards the door.

“George, wait!” Zoe called after him, giving chase.

They had both barely made it out onto the sidewalk when a familiar Chevy came screaming into the square, going way too fast for the icy conditions, and coming to a sudden halt outside of the practice.

“Oh God!” Zoe gasped, paying no mind to the slippery pavements herself as she pounded down the street, abandoning her lunch and losing the hat off her head in her hurry.

Wade was already out of the car when she reached the practice, reaching to grab JT from the back seat. The sight of blood on the boy made Zoe feel sick, despite her usual professionalism.

“Wade, what happened?”

“I don’t know exactly but, Zoe, you gotta help him, please!”


	14. Chapter 14

“I’m sure JT will be just fine, Wade,” said George, looking worriedly at his friend in the next seat over. “You know, Zoe is the best at what she does. Besides, nobody could care more for that kid, ‘cept maybe you, obviously.”

“I don’t even know what happened, Tucker,” Wade told him honestly, running both hands down his face. “He was just... he was trying to crawl. He does that sometimes but it never quite comes off, you know? But he really looked like he was gonna make it this time. I swear to God, I took my eyes off him for a half-a-second, just to grab the camera, and before I could even blink, he just...”

Wade’s voice broke on him as the tears that had been welling in his eyes spilled over. George pulled him closer, rubbing his back, feeling so damn useless. He hadn’t seen Wade cry like this since they were kids and his momma had just died. George prayed to God that they weren’t about to go through something similar with JT. The kid had looked pretty bad when he saw him, blood running from the side of his head and all. Zoe was doing what she did best but it had to be tough on her too. She loved that boy so much. She had practically been the mother figure in this life these past couple of months.

“Sorry ‘bout that,” said Wade, pulling his head up and wiping the tears off his cheeks.

“Nothin’ to apologise for,” George promised him, patting him on the back one more time. “You’re worried for your kid, totally natural, but you know, JT is a Kinsella, and that makes him one of the toughest folks around.”

“Like he has a choice.” Wade shook his head, swallowing hard before he could go on. “Not even seven months old yet and he’s already been abandoned by his momma and damn near killed by his useless father!”

“Hey now, that is enough,” said George firmly, meeting his eyes. “Wade, you are far from useless, okay? You’re not. Accidents happen, and this was clearly an accident. Anybody who has seen you with your son, or even heard you talk about him, they know that you love him more than anythin’ else in the whole world.”

Wade stared at George for a few beats and then slowly nodded his head.

“I can’t stand the thought that anythin’ bad has happened to him ‘cause o’ me.”

“It hasn’t,” said Zoe from the door to the exam room, getting the attention of both guys in a split-second. “He’s going to be fine,” she told Wade with a weak smile.

The second she stepped aside, he rushed to where his son was laying on the exam table, barriers up so he couldn’t possibly fall, not that he seemed to be in the mood for moving a whole lot right now.

Zoe moved back into the room, George right behind her.

“I cleaned up the wound. There was a lot of blood, but it was clearly an abrasion rather than the result of an impact. Best guess, he fell against the edge of something or onto something with a sharp corner, which scraped along his temple and caused the cut. It’s a weird thing but the smallest cuts sometimes just bleed like crazy. It really wasn’t as bad as it seemed.”

“He doesn’t need X-rays or operatin’ on or nothin’?” Wade checked, resisting the urge to pick up his son, even though all he wanted to do was hold him right now.

“Since there was no obvious impact and he showed no sign of incoherence, we don’t have to worry about fracturing of the skull or anything,” Zoe explained. “He should be fine.”

“But you’re not,” said George, seeing Zoe’s face clearly for the first time since they all got into the room. “Right now, I can’t tell the difference between your face and your white coat,” he said, pulling up a chair and encouraging her into it.

“I’m fine.” Zoe waved away his concern. “Really, I just... well, I could drink a glass of water, if you don’t mind?”

“Sure, I’m on it,” George assured her, hurrying from the room.

Zoe nodded absently, watching Wade hovering over JT for a few moments. The shock finally subsided, her professionalism wasn’t needed anymore, and Zoe broke down. Great heaving sobs shook her body as she buried her face in her hands and just cried.

“Hey, Zoe, come on,” said Wade, suddenly on his knees in front of her, trying to prise her hands away from her face. “Come on, it’s okay. You said yourself, he’s just fine.”

“I know,” she sobbed, “and he is,” she promised, letting him hold her as best he could in their current awkward position, “but it’s JT. When I saw your car, I just knew something was wrong, and then when you pulled him out and there was blood... I’m a professional, Wade. I was a freakin’ surgeon for God’s sake, I can handle blood and injuries and life-and-death situations but... but it was JT,” she said again, knowing that for Wade at least it would make total sense.

“I know, doc. I know,” he promised, pulling her into his arms and holding on tight. “But you fixed him up real good and he’s gonna be just fine, all ‘cause o’ you. I swear you are an angel, Zoe Hart, and I don’t deserve you.”

A gurgle of tear-filled laughter escaped her throat at that remark.

“An angel? Really?” she checked, pulling back to look at him. “You are some kind of crazy, Wade Kinsella,” she told him, her hand at his cheek.

“Crazy about you,” he assured her. “Crazy over this kid of mine too,” he admitted, getting up to go back over to where JT lay, little eyes fluttering closed.

Shaky as she was, Zoe got up to and took up her position on the other side.

“He can stay here a little while longer, just in case,” she explained, “but in a couple of hours, if all his vitals are still strong, you can take him home and he’ll be fine.”

“What about the cut on his head?” Wade checked, gesturing vaguely near the bandage taped there. “That gonna heal okay?”

“He may have a small scar,” Zoe admitted, “but honestly, at this age, there’s every chance it’ll fade as he grows up. You probably won’t be able to see it at all in time.”

Wade nodded that he understood, eyes fixed on JT’s little chest rising and falling.

“I swear I still don’t know how it happened. One second, he was crawling, the next, he’s... he’s face down and hollering and bleeding. Uh, he’s not gonna suffer for losing so much blood, right? ‘Cause if he needs some o’ mine, he can have it.”

“He didn’t lose enough to need a transfusion,” Zoe promised, taking a hold of Wade’s hand across the bed and squeezing. “I promise, he will be just fine. I’ll run some tests just to double-check for anything unusual, in case he fell on something metal or dirty that could’ve got something into his system, but that is all purely precautionary. He’s had the usual shots for his age and as a rule kids are pretty resilient.”

“Your cooler was out of water and it took a while to find the bottles,” said George sheepishly from the door, proffering a cup at Zoe.

“Thank you, George,” she said gratefully, taking the drink and sipping at it.

“No problem,” he promised her, hands in his pockets as he surveyed the scene and realised he really was a spare part in these proceedings. “Well, I should probably be heading out, leave you to it, now we know the little guy is gonna be just fine.”

He turned to go but didn’t get far before Wade called out to him.

“Hey, Tucker. Thanks for everything, man. I mean that,” he said definitely.

“What are friends for?” he said, shrugging his shoulders before heading on out.

Zoe sighed and looked back down at JT. “I guess Lavon had a point about snow days. They really are super unlucky in Bluebell.”

“I reckon next time this kinda weather rolls around, we just get in the car and drive until we’re out of its reach. No more snow for the Kinsella boys, not a chance.”

When Wade smiled at her, she smiled back, but honestly, Zoe wasn’t feeling so great about what he said. She understood Wade’s need to avoid any more snow days after all this drama, but she also noted that he wasn’t exactly itching to hold onto her hand anymore and he hadn’t mentioned her in his plan to out-run the next snow storm, just himself and JT.

It was selfish and stupid to feel jealous or left-out, especially in circumstances like these, but Zoe couldn’t help it. Sometimes, she felt so much like a part of a family when she was with Wade and JT, but moments like this reminded her more than ever that she really wasn’t. She was just an outsider amongst those she loved, and not for the first time.

* * *

“I know I screwed up today. Screwed up worse than I ever have, I reckon, and let me tell you, there have been more than a few times in my life when I have monumentally messed things up, not just for myself but for a whole bunch of other people too.” Wade sighed, leaning down on the edge of the crib, watching over his son. “You ask folks around here and they’ll tell ya, ‘Those Kinsellas, they’re best avoided if you don’t want trouble,’ but that all changes from here on out, JT, I promise you that. I was already tryin’ to be everythin’ you needed, but that ain’t good enough. So, no more tryin’, more actual doin’. I am gonna be the daddy you deserve, son. I promise you, somehow, I am.”

A tapping on the door startled Wade from the solemn oath he had been making to JT and he looked up to see a familiar figure through the screen.

“Hey, Dad,” he said, letting him into the house. “Whatcha doin’ here?”

“I heard what happened, son,” said Earl, his hand on Wade’s shoulder. “You doin’ okay?”

Wade nodded dumbly, reliving all the panic and pain he had gone through earlier in the day. Earl watched all the emotions play across his son’s face and then wasted no time in pulling Wade into a hug. They clung to each other for a few seconds before seeming to sober up at the very same moment.

“You wanna see your grandbaby?” Wade asked, sniffing hard.

“Surely do,” Earl agreed, going over to the crib, his arm still around Wade’s shoulders as they went.

They both looked in on JT, who smiled at the sight of his father and grandfather, reaching with both arms to get to them. With shaking hands, Wade reached in to pick him up, visibly nervous about the whole embrace and yet also so glad to be able to have his little boy close. Earl knew that look on his son’s face. He’d worn it himself more than once.

“You know somethin’ similar happened when you were a little thing?” he said, shaking his head as he recalled it. “I swear I was never more ashamed o’ myself than the day I realised you was hurt on account o’ me.”

“What are you talkin’ about, old man?” Wade frowned, sitting down on the end of the bed and watching Earl prop himself against the back of the couch.

“Well, now, you must’ve been maybe a year old or so,” his father explained. “You was sitting in the shed watching me puttin’ a cabinet together for your momma. I figured you were far enough from the sharp tools and such, I didn’t need to worry on you gettin’ hurt,” he said, clearing his throat before he could go on, the memory seeming to affect him even now. “Seemed I was wrong, ‘cause the next thing I knew, you was screaming blue murder. To this day, I got no idea how you ever got that splinter in you, and it was a fair size, ‘specially in a little tiny hand like you had then. You were just screamin’ and hollerin’. Your momma came running out to the shed with Jesse on her heels and she just fixed you right up, got the splinter out, cleaned you up, calmed you down, whipped you right away to the doctor just to be on the safe side. You were fine, o’ course,” Earl concluded, taking a deep breath to compose himself just when he seemed set to break down altogether. “But I remember that day clear as any I ever live  
d. Can’t ever quite shake the guilt o’ knowing my boy got hurt on my watch.”

“Dad, come on.” Wade shook his head, shifting a sleepy JT in his lap. “That was not your fault.”

“And this weren’t yours, not really,” Earl insisted. “Accidents happen. ‘S what I got told back then, ‘s what they’re sayin’ now about what happened today, and they’re right, Wade. You are a good father, son. I see it and I am damn proud of you.”

Wade swallowed hard before answering in a voice that was still softer than he intended. “Thanks, Dad.”

Earl nodded once then reached a hand into his back pocket for an envelope. Wade wasn’t sure what that was about and didn’t get a chance to ask before his father explained.

“So, I figure half your problem is how tired you are from working too hard to keep a roof over my grandbaby’s head.”

“I’m doin’ okay,” Wade insisted, but Earl shook his head.

“That is a pile o’ hogwash, Wade, and we both know it,” he insisted. “Now, it costs plenty to raise a baby, I know it, and when a man needs help with such a thing, he turns to his family. Here.”

Wade shifted his grip on JT so he could reach for the envelope that Earl offered him. In the end, they switched over, Earl taking the baby while Wade looked at what he had been presented with - an envelope stuffed full with small bills that seemed oddly dusty and dirty around the edges.

“There’s gotta be a few hundred bucks in here,” he said, staring wide-eyed at his father. “What did you do, old man?”

“I saved,” he said definitely, offering no further explanation. “Saved up the money and now... well, if you wanna know, I’m working on saving myself next. Truth is, it’s goin’ on two weeks now since I touched a drop o’ the hard stuff.”

If the money hadn’t shocked poor Wade enough, the idea of his father being two weeks sober surely did. Maybe a snow day in Bluebell could bring bad things, but as Wade looked from the money in his hands to the picture made by his father playing happily with his son, who seemed right as rain even after his earlier ordeal, he had to think the unlikely weather had caused some kind of miracle to take place too. It was the only explanation he could come up with for all of this.


	15. Chapter 15

“That is quite the arrangement,” said Lavon as he came into the kitchen and found Zoe mostly hidden behind a collection of beautiful flowers in a vase there. “Your horse win the Kentucky Derby or something?” he asked with a small smile.

Zoe rolled her eyes. “They’re from Wade,” she explained. “He’s been telling me for days now that he owes me something special since I treated JT so well after his fall,” she said, clearing her throat before she could go on. “I told him a hundred times, I’m a doctor and I was just doing my job, but he was determined. I talked him down from jewellery or dinner at Fancie’s to a small bunch of flowers, emphasis on small. Apparently small is still pretty big in ‘Bama,” she said, smiling in spite of herself.

“He thinks a lot about you, Z,” Lavon told her with a smile. “Let the man show it if he wants to. Plenty of people in this world want to hide their feelings, not let anyone know about ‘em. Let me tell you, that ain’t a whole lot of fun for anybody else.”

Zoe felt so bad for Lavon. When it became more and more apparent that the George and Lemon relationship was getting rocky, Lavon seemed to start assuming that, at the very least, Lemon’s cold feet had to do with him. As far as Zoe could tell, that might not be so much of an accurate assessment. Seeing her best friend’s heart breaking caused Zoe pain too.

“I wish I could do something to help,” she said, her hand on Lavon’s shoulder. “I hate to see you so sad.”

“Lavon Hayes’ll get over it,” he said with a heavy sigh. “Somehow, eventually.”

“Good morning, folks” said Wade, bursting into the scene the way only he could. “How we all doin’ this fine morning’?”

“Wow, you’re extra chipper today.” Zoe smiled, right before he kissed her hello. “JT, what has your daddy so very happy?” she asked the little boy in Wade’s arms.

“Funny that you should be askin’ him that,” Wade told her himself. “Because my boy said his first word this morning.”

“At seven months?” Lavon checked, one eyebrow quirked.

“Yes, sir.” Wade nodded once. “Now, I admit, it was a little garbled and may actually have been as much gas as it was talking, but I don’t care,” he insisted. “Sounded a whole lot like ‘dada’ to me.”

“That is impossible,” said Lavon, shaking his head.

“Actually, it’s not,” Zoe insisted. “I mean, it is very, very unlikely, but babies have been known to start saying their first words this young. Super rare, but still, improbable rather than impossible.”

“See,” said Wade with a triumphant look. “Maybe my boy here is just a genius level talker. Score one for dating a woman o’ science who know this stuff,” he said, holding up his free hand for Zoe to high-five - she didn’t leave him hanging.

Honestly, she couldn’t stop smiling at Wade’s usual exuberance for JT and for life in general. She was really worried about him after the accident, half-convinced that it would take a long time for him to get over it, if he ever did. She should’ve known better. Wade always bounced back, though she suspected it helped that he now knew about Earl’s great efforts to stay sober. It was a long, hard path that his father had started on, but if he was willing to try, that wasn’t nothing.

“Thank you again for my flowers,” she said then, coming out of her thoughtful daze in time to see Wade setting JT up in his high chair ready for breakfast. “You really didn’t have to.”

“Yes, I did,” Wade insisted. “It’s time I got things in order in my life, started treating both you and my boy here how you oughta be treated, alright?”

“I guess I can’t argue with logic like that.” Zoe smiled, reaching to give him a hug and a kiss when he turned to look her way - Wade wasn’t dumb enough to argue with that. “Okay, time for work. I’ll see you later. Bye-bye, JT,” she said then, waving to the little boy. “Can you say, ‘Bye-bye, Zoe’?” she tried, even though she knew the chances of him saying it were practically zero.

All three of them waited to see what JT might say or do. All they got for their trouble was the sight of his tongue and a giggle of laughter.

“Close enough.” Zoe shrugged before she finally left for work.

She drove into town without incident, checking in with Addy when she arrived at the practice.

“No appointments ‘til nine-thirty,” she confirmed, “but you got some test results back, including those bloods we ran for little JT Kinsella.”

Zoe practically snatched the folder from Addy’s hand and looked inside, eyes moving quickly down the list of potential problems in JT’s tests. A huge sigh escaped her then.

“Everything’s normal, thank God,” she declared aloud.

“Amen to that,” Addy agreed. “That poor child has been through enough one way and another.”

“Agreed.” Zoe nodded, wandering into her office still looking through the rest of the test results.

Not everybody was as lucky as JT. Later, she was going to have to speak to one person about some seriously high cholesterol levels and another about a potential hormone imbalance. Going back to JT’s results then, Zoe allowed herself another smile. She was so glad to know he was okay, unsure how she ever would’ve found the words to tell Wade if he wasn’t. She moved to put the folder down when suddenly she stopped. JT’s blood group caught her eye and she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was amiss. Moving over to the filing cabinet, she dug around until she found JT’s medical file and then Wade’s file as well. She flipped through the details to the blood information for first Carrie-Sue and then Wade, and her eyes got wide.

“No way,” she said, comparing the two with JT’s record. “No frickin’ way!”

* * *

“Come on now, kid,” said Wade, lifting JT out of his highchair when he was all cleaned up from breakfast. “Time you and me was making tracks, leave old Uncle Lavon to his depression.”

“So what if I am depressed?” his friend grumbled. “I got a right.”

“All because you and Didi didn’t work out?” asked Wade, sitting JT on his hip. “’Cause this seems like a whole lot of black days for a girl you only dated for a couple o’ months.”

“Shows what you know,” said Lavon crossly. “Hell, you knew Zoe for, what, a week before you was head over heels in love?”

Wade opened his mouth to argue that point before realising that he didn’t know how. Love was a big word that he wasn’t entirely sure he was comfortable tossing around yet, but he had these feelings for Zoe pretty much from the get-go, that was true enough. Of course, him and Zoe weren’t the real topic here.

“All I’m sayin’ is this,” he told Lavon straight, “you only ever got this down in the dumps one time since I knew you, and I know we never talked about why that was, but I think you and I both know just exactly what I’m talkin’ about. So, you think on that, Lavon Hayes,” he said with a look before sweeping out of the kitchen, bouncing JT in his arms. “Yeah, I know,” he told his little boy as they headed back to the gate house. “That coulda made more sense, but I made a promise to your Aunt Lemon, and despite what some people will tell ya, your daddy is a man of his word, alright? Alright,” he said with a smile as JT put up his hand as if waiting on a high-five and Wade made it happen. “I guess we should swing by Zoe’s office later on, see about this thing on your head,” he said then, eyeing the sticky bandage with distaste. “Last thing we need is you gettin’ anything nasty in that wound o’ yours.”

JT gabbled something incomprehensible.

“I hear what you’re sayin’,” Wade replied anyway. “I figure we’ll give ourselves the mornin’ off, watch a little TV, relax a little, then head into town around lunch time and sweep your Aunt Zoe off her feet. That sound good? Yeah, I think so too,” he answered himself, since JT clearly wasn’t going to. “And if you could just do that ‘dada’ thing again when we see Zoe, that’d be great,” he added, kissing JT’s head as he carried him into the house, bouncing him in his arms. “Here we go now.”

* * *

Zoe couldn’t stop staring at the paperwork laid out on her desk. There had to be some mistake, there just had to be, and yet, there wasn’t and she knew it. Of course, if what she suspected was true, she had no idea how she was going to tell Wade. She liked him so much, the very last thing she would ever want to do was break his heart, and yet, she may not have a choice.

“That is an awful serious look on your face, doc.”

She was so startled to hear his voice, Zoe almost threw her paperwork all over the floor. As it was, her hand went to her chest and it took two deep breaths before she felt calm again.

“Geez, you’re jumpy,” Wade told her as he walked further into the office, carrying JT in his arms. “We were just looking to surprise you by comin’ by and offerin’ to buy you lunch, right, JT?”

As soon as she was within reach, the little boy stretched his arms out towards Zoe. She quickly closed the folders on the desk and took a hold of JT, lifting him effortlessly into her lap.

“Hey, you,” she said, kissing the top of his head. “Ugh, what happened to this bandage?”

“Yeah, that’s the other thing,” Wade admitted, perching on the far side of her desk. “Somebody got a little over-the-top with breakfast this morning. That’s mostly banana.”

“Nice,” said Zoe with a grimace. “We need to change this dressing, baby boy,” she told JT. “Yes, we do.”

She carried him through to the exam room and sat him down on the table, waiting for Wade to be on the other side and ensure JT didn’t try to get away before she grabbed the supplies she needed and then got to changing the bandage.

“On the upside, this is healing really well,” she assured Wade as she worked. “A few more days and he won’t need to have it covered all the time, you’ll just need to be careful about keeping it dry when you bathe him and stuff.”

“Sounds good, doc.” Wade nodded along. “I’m guessin’ there were no problems with those tests you ran either? Figured you would’ve mentioned it by now if there were.”

“Nope, no problems,” Zoe assured him, concentrating on JT mostly became it meant she didn’t have to look at Wade.

Right now, she just couldn’t bring herself to, not when she had to say something so very, very awkward.

“Can I ask you kind of a weird question?”

“Shoot,” Wade said immediately.

“Do you know what blood type you are?”

“Uh, yeah. O, far as I know. Why’d you ask?”

“Just making sure our records are correct,” said Zoe, shaking her head. “No big deal.”

She moved away to put the old bandage in the hazardous waste and remove her gloves into the same bin. When she turned back, she found Wade staring at her.

“What?” she checked.

“Zoe, come on,” he urged her, picking JT back up into his arms. “What is goin’ on?”

She really didn’t want to tell him, not when she could easily be wrong, but if she didn’t say anything, Zoe knew the information was going to eat away at her and that was no good at all.

“Okay, you need to sit down,” she advised.

“Zoe...” Wade shook his head, but she held firm.

“Seriously, Wade, sit down,” she insisted until he did as he was told, settling JT in his lap.

“Okay,” Zoe started again, pacing in front of the Kinsella boys. “So, I noticed something when I checked JT’s blood tests today. There were no positive results for anything bad, he really is just fine, I promise,” she explained fast. “The weird thing is that his blood group is B. According to his file, Carrie-Sue Smith is group O, and I was pretty sure I remembered yours being O. That’s what it says on your records too, and you just confirmed it’s what you thought.”

“Right. So, what are you sayin’ to me, doc?”

Zoe stopped her pacing and faced Wade, swallowing hard and taking a deep breath before she delivered the news.

“I’m saying that the chances of two people with blood group O being the biological parents of a child with blood group B are practically zero. Wade, what I’m saying is... there’s a very good chance that you’re actually not JT’s father.”


	16. Chapter 16

“Wade?”

He heard Zoe saying his name but somehow couldn’t find a way to respond to it. His brain had hit overload in the last few seconds and didn’t seem to be coming back down to normal any time soon. Wade had put JT back down on the bed because he was honestly afraid he might drop him otherwise, but since then it was like he couldn’t do anything else, couldn’t think, could hardly breathe.

“No,” he forced out eventually. “No, you got this wrong, doc,” he told her, shaking his head.

“I wish that were true, Wade,” she said softly, her expression pained when he finally looked at her. “I wish I didn’t know this, but I do. It’s just a fact. You can’t be JT’s father-”

“That is not what you said before,” Wade cut her off, pacing the floor because he just could not stand still right now. “No, you said there was a good chance I wasn’t, not that I couldn’t be for sure.”

“Well, that’s true,” Zoe admitted. “But the chances are just so small-”

“But they exist,” Wade countered fast. “The chance exists that he is my son.”

He looked at JT for a moment before his eyes met Zoe’s own gaze. She swallowed hard and then slowly nodded her head.

“There is a chance,” she told him. “A very small chance, but yes, it does exist. But, Wade...”

“No. No more buts,” Wade told her firmly, picking JT back up and heading straight out of the exam room door. “I don’t wanna hear this.”

He got as far as the practice door and was opening it up to leave when Zoe caught up to him, her hand on his arm.

“Wade, please,” she urged him, waiting to continue until he looked at her.

He hated that her face was blurry before his eyes. The last thing he wanted to do was cry in front of her.

“Zoe,” he said softly. “Please, just let me go. Please.”

She silently nodded, releasing her grip on his arm and stepping back so he could leave. Wade might’ve thanked her if he had the voice, but he was concentrating on more important things right then, like breathing and seeing straight and keeping JT from feeling freaked out.

“You’re just fine, kid,” he promised the little boy, bouncing him in his arms. “Don’t you worry about a thing,” he said, kissing JT’s head.

Wade was grateful to make it to the car without some friend or neighbour stopping him. He got JT into his car seat in record time, then dived into the driver’s seat and got to going. He vaguely saw Tom Long raise a hand to wave a cheery hello but Wade turned his face away. He drove back to the plantation as best he could with tears obscuring his vision every now and then and his brain scrambled beyond belief. He had no idea what he was supposed to do now.

* * *

“I just never saw this coming,” said George, shaking his head. “I swear to you, Lemon, it was not a plan I had or anything I could’ve predicted when I first came home from New York.”

“Oh, I know that, George,” she assured him, her hand resting on his arm. “I guess we were both just being foolish, thinkin’ we could pick up right where we left off. Whoever heard of two people being together fifteen years and still being as in love as they were in high school?” she said, smiling despite the tears evidently pooling in her eyes.

“I don’t think I’ll ever stop loving you, Lemon,” he promised, squeezing her hand. “It’s just not how it used to be.”

“We’re not _in_ love anymore,” she confirmed, swallowing hard. “Lord knows I never thought there’d be a day when I could bear to admit such a thing, not even to myself, but maybe it’s all for the best. If we’d gone ahead with this wedding...”

She couldn’t go on and George couldn’t help her out either. It seemed too bizarre to the both of them, imagining a future where they didn’t get married, where they weren’t together forever, and yet there was a kind of strange relief that came with admitting how they really felt. The pressure was off now they had both found a way to confess the fact they just weren’t entirely happy in their relationship anymore.

“You know, when I was in New York,” said George eventually, studying the tile of the Breeland’s summer room as he went on, “I missed home so much. Don’t get me wrong, city life was great, but it wasn’t Bluebell. Of course, I missed you too but, weird as it sounds, I think I missed the _idea_ of you, of us, more than what we really were.”

“I understand that.” Lemon nodded, hand shooting up to her face to wipe away escaping tears. “Much as I missed havin’ you around, I was just so mad at you for choosing anyone or anything over me. It took me so long to realise that’s not the same thing as missing somebody just because you love them. Of all people, I believe it was Wade Kinsella that made me see the truth.”

“Wade?” George checked, meeting her eyes. “You and... and Wade?”

“Not that way!” Lemon told him, looking scandalised. “My goodness, George Tucker, what do you take me for? Wade Kinsella is a good friend is all and one of the easiest people for me to confide in, given the circumstances. He’s known us both as long as we’ve known each other, plus he’s been forced to make some real adult decisions these past few weeks. Talking things through with him made me see I was being such a child over our wedding and all. I’ve been blaming you, and Zoe Hart, and just about everybody and everything but myself... and I am the one to blame, George.”

“To blame for what?” he asked in earnest. “Lemon, you and I just agreed we both feel the same about our future. That’s a joint decision, nobody’s fault.”

Lemon swallowed hard one more time and made herself sit up straight and confident before she went on.

“The last thing I would ever want to do is hurt you, George Tucker,” she admitted, “but in light of us both being so truthful and honest about our feelings today, I have one other thing I have to tell you, and I can’t imagine for a second that you’re goin’ to like it.”

George frowned at that, hardly knowing what to think as Lemon drew in a breath and let it out slow, fighting for composure, as they both had been through this whole conversation.

“When you were away in New York, I found out that my absent mother was livin’ in Daphne,” Lemon began to explain, knowing as tough as talk of her momma would be, what came next would be harder still, but she had to do it.

George deserved the truth and she deserved to have a chance at moving on in her own life too, though whether he or Lavon would ever forgive her for her behaviour thus far, Lemon had no idea. She could only be honest and then live in hope.

* * *

Zoe was well-used to having to keep secrets in her line of work. Doctor-patient confidentiality was a very big deal and she would never, ever break it, not just because it would be professional suicide but also because it would be morally wrong too. Back home in New York, she would sometimes discuss cases she had dealt with in vague terms with her mom or friends, never mentioning names or specifics, and it really didn’t matter. Things were very different in Bluebell, where everybody knew everybody else’s business. If she breathed even the most non-specific words to anyone, they could figure out what was going on in an instant, and so, Zoe just had to carry around the secrets all by herself.

The only person she could talk to about Wade and JT was Wade himself. Honestly, he was the only one she wanted to talk to anyway and headed straight for the Rammer Jammer when she was done with work. She was surprised to find Annabeth sat at the bar when she got there.

“AB, what are you doing here?” she asked, frowning hard.

“Uh, enjoying a mocktail and waiting on Crickett to talk Belle events, since Lemon seems to have abandoned her duties of late,” she said, shaking her head. “Did I miss an appointment with you or something?”

Zoe stopped and shook her head. “No, sorry. I must’ve got it wrong. I thought you were babysitting JT while Wade worked his shift.”

“Oh, honey, that all got changed around,” her friend explained. “Wade called me around lunch time, told me he wasn’t working after all so he didn’t need me to sit today.”

“That’s what he said to you?” asked Shelley as she appeared on the other side of the bar. “Huh. He called me and asked me to cover his shift because he was havin’ a bad time with the baby. I didn’t argue, I mean, how can you when the kid is just cute as a button?”

“You are so right,” AB agreed.

Zoe hardly heard a word. She mumbled something that was supposed to be both thank you and goodbye then hurried back out of the door. She really hoped Wade hadn’t done anything stupid, though she couldn’t imagine for a moment that he really would. Finding out JT might not be his son, that had to be a hell of a blow, especially just when he had got so used to being a father and everything.

Driving as fast as she dare, Zoe got home in record time and rushed right over to the gatehouse. She peered in through the window, glad to see that Wade was there with JT in his arms. They both looked okay, as far as she could tell, so that was a good sign. She knocked on the door and Wade immediately came to let her in.

“Just couldn’t leave me alone, huh, doc?” he said, not exactly looking thrilled to see her.

“Wade, please don’t blame me for this,” she urged him. “I have spent all day worrying about you and feeling awful, but you know I had to tell you. It’s not my fault that I know what I know.”

“What you _think_ you know,” Wade corrected crossly, turning away from her but leaving the door open so Zoe could come in.

“No, the facts remain the same, Wade,” she told him firmly, following him inside. “The fact is that the chances are small,” she said, deliberately vaguely since talking of Wade not being JT’s father again would only hurt the both of them. “We can check to be sure. It’s pretty easy to do-”

“No,” Wade snapped, holding JT close in his arms as he turned to look at her again. “I don’t want your test. I don’t need it,” he told her definitely.

Zoe shivered at the cold look in his red-rimmed eyes. She tried not to take it personally, after all, Wade was going through something pretty damn emotional and painful right now. That didn’t mean it didn’t hurt to have him look at her that way, to have him seemingly blame her for this.

“This isn’t my fault, Wade,” she reminded him. “I know you want someone to blame and I can understand that, but it’s not me. If Carrie-Sue was mistaken or lied or whatever, that’s on her. You cannot blame me. I won’t let you do that.”

At some point, the tears that had been building for a while spilled over, not just for Zoe but for Wade too. He turned away to put JT into his crib. Given how sleepy the little boy looked and how stressed Wade seemed, it probably wasn’t a bad thing. Zoe also suspected Wade was trying to hide the fact he was crying, not that he needed to as far as she was concerned.

“Wade?”

“Why’d you even have to tell me any o’ this?” he asked as he turned back to face her. “Why, Zoe? I mean, what good did it even do?”

“It’s the truth,” she said plainly, a little annoyed that he was still trying to make this her fault somehow. “We’re talking about JT’s paternity, Wade. It matters that we know the truth, so that when he’s older, he knows it too. In case you forgot, I was raised by a man who wasn’t my father,” she reminded him, lowering her voice a little when she started to notice she was losing control of her own emotions. “I just... I missed out on knowing my real dad because of my mother’s lies. She hurt me, she hurt my dad... Ethan,” she corrected herself, “and Harley too. I don’t want JT to go through that and I don’t believe you do either. You’re a good person, Wade Kinsella. I know that,” she said firmly. “Please, don’t let fear and pain blind you to what’s right.”

She didn’t want to be so harsh but it seemed to be the only way to ensure that Wade didn’t bury his head in the sand on this. When she was done telling him how things had to be, she wasn’t exactly proud to see him look defeated. Winning the argument wasn’t a victory in this case, not really. It didn’t make anybody feel any better.

“Come on,” she said gently, reaching for Wade’s hand and urging him to follow her to the couch, which he did without protest. “Now, please, just listen to me,” she said as they sat down together. “I know this is hard on you and I am sorry about that, but I can help, if you’ll let me. A DNA test is easy enough. I can take the samples, send them off to the lab, not the one the practice uses,” she added fast before Wade had a chance to argue. “I have a friend who owes me a favour, he could get it done. The results would come straight to me, no chance of Brick or Addy or anyone else seeing them.”

“And then what?” asked Wade, running a hand over his face. “What happens if you have this right and I’m not...?” He couldn’t even say it, turning to look over at JT’s crib and making it more than clear what he meant. “Where does he end up then? Back with a mother who’ll just dump him on another doorstep?” he asked bitterly. “Or with some other guy who prob’ly won’t raise him half as good as this town can.”

“I don’t know,” Zoe admitted, shaking her head, “but just remember, small as the chance is, is does exist, Wade. You guys look so alike and you’ve bonded so easily, plus you told me yourself that the supposed date of conception tallies with you and Carrie-Sue... being together,” she said awkwardly. “I know it doesn’t seem like it, but I have been known to be wrong about things sometimes,” she said, forcing half a smile.

Wade smiled too, though the pain in his eyes remained. Zoe so wished she could make it better, she really wanted to do all she could to help him, but there was only so much.

“I didn’t mean to take out what I’m feelin’ on you,” he told her then, taking her hand into his own. “I know it’s not your fault, I just... I guess I wish you hadn’t told me is all, even if that’s dumb ‘cause let’s face it, wouldn’t change the truth of things, would it?”

“No, it wouldn’t,” Zoe agreed, “but for what it’s worth, I wish I hadn’t noticed either. You know I would never do anything to deliberately hurt you, right? Not you or JT.”

“Yes, I know that,” Wade nodded, pulling on her hand until she moved closer and then wrapping his arms around her. “I guess we’ll do your test, let your buddy find out the truth.”

“You’re sure?” asked Zoe, pulling back to look at him.

“Don’t see as I have much of a choice.” Wade shrugged. “Like you said, he deserves the truth,” he said, tilting his head towards JT’s crib. “No matter what that turns out to be.”


	17. Chapter 17

Zoe’s hands were shaking as she sealed down the envelope containing the DNA samples from Wade and JT. She was already freaking out about what the result of the test would be, even though she had been the one to convince Wade they all needed the truth. She really hoped he and JT were a match, dreading to think what would happen if they weren't.

“Dr Hart?”

She turned around fast at the sound of her name, sitting on the edge of her desk in front of the envelope as Brick walked in. She swallowed hard and took a deep breath, painting on a smile she hoped he wouldn’t notice was fake.

“Hey, Brick,” she said too cheerily. “What’s up?”

“What’s up?” he echoed, making a face. “Come on now, Dr Hart, I know how gossip blows through this town. You can’t really expect me to believe you haven’t heard the news already.”

There was a feeling of relief running through Zoe as she took in his words then. There was news he expected her to have _heard_ , which means it couldn’t be about JT’s paternity, surely. She had no idea how that ever would’ve gotten out anyway when only she and Wade knew about it, but for a moment there she had panicked.

“I haven’t exactly heard much of anything in the last twenty-four hours. I’ve been... busy,” she said waving her hand in a vague gesture. “So, what did I miss?”

Brick looked awkward and strange. He turned as if to leave and then seemed to change his mind, looking back at her.

“I guess you’re going to hear about it anyway, so I may as well tell you the truth before it becomes a Chinese whisper,” he said with a sighed, rubbing his forehead. “My Lemon and George Tucker have called off their wedding.”

“Wow.” Zoe shook her head. “I mean, I... I got the impression something wasn’t quite right with them, but I didn’t... I had no idea it was that serious.”

“Well, it is.” Brick nodded once. “Nobody’s fault, as far as I know, just a mutual decision that maybe they’re just not so well suited anymore. It happens.”

“Of course, it does,” Zoe agreed, nodding back at him. “Um, if there’s anything I can do to help, I mean, covering for you here if you need to be with Lemon or deal with cancelling plans or whatever.”

Brick stared at her for a long while, as if he was trying to figure out if she meant what she said or not. Of course, Zoe didn’t worry about it, because actually, she was being genuine in her offer to help out anyway she could. Eventually it seemed that Brick took her at her word.

“I don’t think we’ll need it, but thank you, Zoe,” he told her. “I appreciate your concern.”

“Of course,” she said, nodding her head, letting out a huge sigh of relief when her partner was finally gone.

Grabbing up the envelope, she made sure it was ready to go, prepared to pay whatever was necessary to get it Fedexed to her old friend in New York. In a day or two, he would have the results for her and for Wade, confirming JT’s paternity once and for all. Despite knowing it made no real difference to the truth, Zoe couldn’t help but wish and pray that they all got the answer they wanted. She couldn’t stand the thought of Wade’s heart being broken if he was told JT wasn’t his son.

When the DNA samples were finally mailed and she was headed back to her office, Zoe was distracted enough that she didn’t see George coming until they literally ran into each other. His hands shot out to steady her and she looked up to meet his red-rimmed eyes.

“Oh, George,” she said sadly. “I’m... I heard about you and Lemon. I’m so sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?” he checked, shrugging his shoulders. “I mean, you didn’t make me and Lemon fall out of love with each other. You sure as hell didn’t make her...”

Zoe watched him turn away, a humourless laugh escaping her lips. She knew what he meant. She really, really wished she didn’t, but she so did. Lavon had told her everything a while ago, and now it seemed that Lemon had told George. That was probably a good thing in theory, but the pain on his face made Zoe wonder. Were there any guys in her life right now that could have a whole conversation with her without tears?

“Hey, it’s okay,” she promised, her hand on his arm. “George, you know, if you need to talk, I’m here. I mean, we’re friends, right? At least, I thought so.”

“Yeah, we are,” he told her, finding a watery smile as he nodded his head, his hand covering hers on his arm. “And thank you, Zoe, I appreciate it. Not like I exactly feel as if I have an overabundance of friends to talk to right now. I mean, Wade is obviously busy as anything with his son, and... well, there are some other people I don’t wanna deal with right about now.”

“Well, like I said, I’m around, if you need someone,” she told him with a smile.

“Thank you, Zoe” he repeated, lifting her hand to his lips and kissing her knuckles.

He gave her another brief smile before letting her hand go and walking away.

Zoe sighed watching him go. It was awful to see such a nice guy so hurt and she genuinely did want to help. Still, she couldn’t help but think back to a time when all she had really wanted was for George and Lemon to call off their wedding. Now that day had finally come and all she felt was sad for her friend’s pain. She didn’t want George Tucker anymore, not that way. She wondered if she ever really had those feelings for him. Sure, he was good-looking, charming, sweet, there was nothing not to like about George, but given the choice, Zoe could not imagine giving up what she had with Wade to be with anyone else, not even George Tucker.

The realisation came as a surprise, in a way. Not that she had failed to notice that Wade meant a lot to her, but they hadn’t really labelled whatever they were up to now. She never actually called him her boyfriend or anything. He never once said she was his girlfriend either. They never talked about whether or not they were exclusive or committed, it just seemed to be an unspoken promise between them. At least, Zoe assumed that’s what it was. Maybe there were some things she and Wade should actually say, just so they knew where they stood, but now certainly wasn’t the time for that, not with the truth of JT’s paternity hanging over them. After the results came, which would hopefully prove the happy truth that Wade really was John-Thomas’ father, then everything else could be hammered out.

“One thing at a time,” Zoe muttered to herself, heading back into the practice to find a fair few patients lined up in the waiting room ready to see her. “Looks like it’s going to be a busy day.”

* * *

“Lemon? Whatcha doin’ out here?” asked Wade, squinting against the sun and trying to keep JT from falling over backwards in his arms at the same time. “Or is that a dumb question?” he checked then as he thought about it some more.

Maybe Lemon being on the front porch of mayor’s house wasn’t so surprising after some of rumours running around town of late, but he wasn’t about to make any presumptions in other people’s love triangles. That generally led to no good.

“I was hoping to speak with Lavon,” said Lemon, descending the step to meet Wade, “but it seems he’s not home.”

“Prob’ly at some meeting or other.” Wade shrugged. “I’m guessin’ it ain’t his mayoral self you was after though.”

Lemon looked as if she was going to say something profound for all of a second, before letting herself get distracted elsewhere.

“Well, hello, precious boy,” she said to JT, greeting him with a wide smile. “How’re you doing today?”

JT babbled at her, reaching out with a hand that grabbed at her chest.

“My, my, you become more like your daddy every day, little one,” she said with a smirk then as she lifted the child into her own arms for a hug.

If she was expecting some kind of snappy comeback from Wade or even a laugh at her bad joke, Lemon was in for a heck of a wait. Just hearing anybody talk to JT about his daddy made Wade feel nauseous right about now.

“Since you have been laughing off the worst of my insults these past fifteen years and more, Wade Kinsella - and that one was hardly a zinger - I think you should tell me just exactly what that look on your face is for,” she told him, with one of those expressions she got that meant she wasn’t to be argued with.

Wade shook his head, even though he had a mind to tell her everything. After all the secrets he had been keeping for her, she ought to repay the favour for him if he did spill it all. Seemed like a dumb idea after he made such a big deal of having Zoe keep the whole paternity thing under wraps, and yet.

“Wade?” Lemon prompted when he was quiet too long.

“Come around to the gatehouse,” he said, tilting his head that way. “I could use a little payback on that friendly ear I leant you a while back.”

Lemon nodded her ascent and followed him home, bouncing JT in her arms. The little boy seemed to be having a fine time and certainly didn’t look sick or anything awful like that. She wondered what else could possibly have put such a pained expression on Wade’s face, and she could only come up with the one thing.

“Is this about Zoe Hart?” she asked the moment she stepped into Wade’s place and he closed the door behind her.

“Seriously?” he checked, reaching to take JT from her and put him down on his play mat for a while. “You really are obsessed with my girlfriend, aren’t you, Lemon?”

“Girlfriend?” Lemon echoed, sure her eyes were so wide they could roll clean out of her head. “I’m sure I haven’t heard you use that expression for a woman in your life since... No, I have never heard you use it, not once, and that includes Tansy who went from a fling to your wife inside of a month.”

“You’re hilarious by the way,” Wade told her, rolling his eyes as he sat himself down nearby to JT, never taking his eyes off the kid.

Lemon walked over and lowered herself down daintily on the other side of the play mat, trying not to think about the fact she was on the floor of Wade’s house. What might’ve taken place in the very spot she was sat didn’t bear thinking of, so she didn’t allow her mind to wander there.

“Come on, Wade,” she said, glancing from JT to him and back. “Something serious is on your mind. I know it as plain as you knew I was suffering much the same a while back. Seems to me it either has to do with Zoe or this little bundle of fun, so which is it?”

“Both, kinda,” he admitted eventually, one hand rubbing the back of his neck. “You know, when he had his little accident last week and got the cut on his head?” he began, gesturing to the band aid that had since replaced the larger dressing on the little boy’s head. “Well, Zoe ran tests, just to be extra sure he was alright. Before you start panicking, he _is_ alright, no diseases, no infections. Perfectly healthy kid.”

“That’s good.” Lemon nodded.

“It is,” Wade agreed. “Only problem is he... Well, as it turns out, he might not be _my_ perfectly healthy kid.”

If Lemon had been shocked by Wade calling Zoe his girlfriend, she was doubly so to hear that JT might not be Wade’s son. Her eyes moved from the little boy to her friend and back three times before she finally got too dizzy to continue.

“That is the most ridiculous thing I ever heard,” she said definitely. “Wade Kinsella, this child is the spittin’ image of you. How could he possibly not be your son?”

“’Cause apparently he ain’t!” he snapped at her, before seeming to realise he shouldn’t and speaking more calmly. “I mean, there’s a good chance he ain’t. No matter what he looks like, Lemon, that could be a coincidence, I guess. I hope it’s not, more than you can imagine, but it could be. Apparently, there’s not exactly a big chance that a kid with his blood type could be born to parents with mine and Carrie-Sue’s blood types. Since there’s really no doubting that she’s his momma...”

He didn’t need to say more and they both knew it. Honestly, for once in her life, Lemon Breeland didn’t know what to say either. Wade was hardly the kind of guy one would naturally assume would be a good father, but he really was proving to be so. There wasn’t a person in town that hadn’t been pleasantly surprised to see him be the kind of daddy any son would be proud as punch to have. He doted on JT, did all he could for him, worked like a mule to make enough money, and devoted himself to the health and happiness of the little boy who had literally been dropped on him at a moment’s notice. It seemed horribly unfair if, after all this, he had to find out he wasn’t the father at all.

“Lemon, please,” said Wade then. “I swear to God, if you start cryin’ I’m gonna do the same, and I feel enough like a girl already over this whole situation.”

She really hadn’t noticed her own tears until he called her on it but Lemon had no control even once she knew. Pushing herself forward she flung her arms right around Wade and held on tight. With their heads over each other’s shoulders, at least they didn’t have to see each other breakdown.

There was a tapping on the door a minute later and they pulled apart fast, Wade asking Lemon to keep her eyes on JT while he went to see who was knocking. He wiped his face dry with the back of his hand a moment before he opened the door to Zoe.

“Hey,” she said with a smile that didn’t quite come off. “Are you okay?”

“I could ask you the same, doc,” he countered, frowning at her red-rimmed eyes. “Either you have terrible allergies all of a sudden or I need to go punch somebody for making you cry.”

“That would be a long trip and a waste of energy,” she said, shaking her head as he ushered her inside. “Oh, Lemon, hi,” she said awkwardly when she saw her there with JT. “Um, am I interrupting something?” she asked, glancing from Lemon to Wade and back.

“I’m sure Wade’s girlfriend is always a welcome surprise in his home,” said Lemon with an over-the-top grin before she turned to JT and kissed the top of his head. “You be a good boy for your daddy now, sweetheart, and Aunt Lemon will see you again soon.”

She got up to leave then and Wade went to scoop up JT from the floor and wave the boy’s little arm to Lemon as she left.

“Any message for Lavon?” he asked with a smirk as she glanced back at him.

“No, thank you,” she said too politely. “I believe anything I have to say to the mayor, I should probably say myself.”

“Well, that was weird,” said Zoe, watching Lemon leave. “Unless... do you know what I know?” she asked Wade, narrowing her eyes a bit.

“Depends what you know, doc,” he countered. “Something about the great George and Lemon break-up maybe?”

“That involved Lavon?” she checked cautiously.

“He told you about that, huh?”

“And she told you?”

“Nah, I’ve known for a while. They weren’t as sneaky as they thought back when it was actually goin’ on.”

“Huh.” Zoe shook her head. “Everything in this town is just upside down lately.”

She looked ready to laugh about it and yet Wade couldn’t get past the fact she had clearly been crying. Since Zoe obviously knew he had been too, that seemed like a good place to start to get the truth out of her.

“So, I told Lemon about the whole DNA situation,” he admitted right off. “I know we said nobody needed to know and I didn’t exactly plan on it but she was here and... and honestly, I think my head would’ve exploded if I didn’t say somethin’ to somebody.”

Zoe nodded that she understood, moving closer to put one arm around him and the other around JT who he was holding still.

“I know what you mean, but you’ll be happy to know I sent off the samples and Sam has promised me he’ll get the tests done just as fast as he can and contact me just as soon as he has them,” she confirmed.

“So, if your buddy with the genetic-type skills ain’t the problem, who is?” Wade asked, handing JT to Zoe when he made it clear he wanted to go. “Somebody has you upset, doc, and I’m not standin’ for that.”

She smiled, touched by how much he truly cared for her.

“Thank you,” she said, “but there’s really nothing you or I or anyone can do about it. I just... All this stuff with you and JT got me thinking about my own father, about Ethan,” she clarified. “I tried to call him today and... well, it’s not unusual for me to not be able to get a hold of him, but when I got into serious ‘tracking down Daddy’ mode, I found out that he moved, months ago, and never even told me. He was in Germany but he’s been back in the US for quite a while and... and apparently, he didn’t care enough to let me know.”

The tears were welling in her eyes again as she explained and Wade hated to see her upset. One way and another there was an awful lot of teary folk in Bluebell this day, and he didn’t care for it at all.

“I’m sorry, Zoe,” he told her honestly. “I know what the guy means to you, even if he’s not really... I mean...” 

“I know what you mean,” she assured him. “I guess I can’t entirely blame him. Finding out he wasn’t really my father, it had to hurt.”

“I know it did,” Wade assured her, looking fondly at JT. “But that’s no reason to cut you off the way he has. None of the secret keepin’ was your fault.”

Zoe nodded that he was right, even managing a smile when JT put his little head on her shoulder and hugged her neck with both arms. Whether Wade was his father or not, Zoe always knew she wasn’t the little boy’s mother, but he felt a lot like family to her, as did Wade and Lavon and so many others in Bluebell already. She could do without Ethan Hart if she had to, no problem.


	18. Chapter 18

“We couldn’t just have had pastries and pancakes at home like we usually do?” asked Zoe, as she walked through town with Lavon, Wade, and JT. “It’s so early and that sun is too bright,” she said, shielding her eyes.

“Late night last night, Big Z?” asked her friend with a chuckle.

“No, not really,” she said. “I just... I didn’t sleep so well,” she admitted, looking sideways at Wade.

He didn’t look back at her, just kept his attention on JT, which was a good thing because the kid was having a situation that needed a tissue, which Zoe helped to rectify before they actually got to the Rammer Jammer. Wade thanked her but his smile wasn’t so genuine right now. Zoe couldn’t blame him, not with the DNA results hanging over their heads. It should be today, with a little luck, but even a few hours of waiting seemed like forever.

“You guys really gotta learn to trust Lavon Hayes,” he said, leading Zoe, Wade and JT inside.

“I trust you well enough, man,” Wade promised him. “Just spend enough time in this place already without addin’ breakfast to the mix. You know what a mess my boy here gets into at the best o’ times, plus every other person in town wants to make a fuss when they see him. Settlin’ him down to eatin’ll be an adventure...”

He trailed off as they got into the eatery proper and he saw just how many people were hanging around. A low whistle escaped Wade at the sight and he looked from Lavon to Zoe.

“Somethin’ going on here, doc?” he asked her suspiciously.

“Hey, don’t look at me,” she said, hands up in mock surrender. “I was all for eating at home, remember?”

“Why don’t you two just take yourselves some seats, I’ll grab the high chair for Master John-Thomas here, and we’ll get ourselves some breakfast.”

Lavon was grinning too much and both Wade and Zoe couldn’t fail to notice. They sat down at the nearest table anyway, exchanging confused expressions.

“I could do without him bein’ weird today.” Wade sighed.

“I know, but he means well, I think,” Zoe said awkwardly, her hand on his arm. “Besides, he doesn’t know about...” she said vaguely, knowing this was hardly the place to say more.

“Gettin’ to be too many damn secrets in this town one way and another,” Wade muttered, shutting his mouth when Lavon reappeared with the chair for JT and that huge grin still plastered all over his face.

Zoe narrowed her eyes at him. Something was definitely going on. She hadn’t exactly seen Lavon smile much lately, not since he broke up with Didi and then all the Lemon stuff happened. As far as she could tell, nothing had been resolved on that front and yet here he was, their trusted friend and landlord, grinning like the Cheshire Cat in a very busy Rammer Jammer. She opened her mouth to ask what it was really all about, only for Shelley to come over and take their order. Zoe meant to try again, but then suddenly Dash was behind a podium and apparently an announcement was about to be made.

“Are you kidding me?” Wade asked Lavon, now noticing the sign pinned up over Dash’s head. “You dragged us down here just to see you get handed the MOTY?”

“The what now?” Zoe asked, shaking her head.

“MOTY,” Wade repeated quietly, since Dash was trying to get everyone down to a dull roar to start his speechifying. “Bluebell’s Man of the Year award,” he explained. “Old Lavon here prob’ly thinks this year is his turn.”

“I would never presume such a thing,” Lavon told then both firmly. “Now hush up, you might wanna hear this.”

Zoe and Wade shared a look that contained rolling eyes on both sides, but they did as Lavon asked, paying attention to Dash and not making any more noise. Of course, JT was too little to understand the concept of being quiet when asked, gurgling and babbling, and even slamming his hands on the tray in front of the high chair through the silence that soon fell over the Rammer Jammer.

“Not now, bubba,” Wade said softly. “Listen to old Dash for a second, huh?”

To his credit, Dash didn’t seem like he minded so much about the interruption, chuckling about it as so many others did the same.

“The child is just fine, Wade,” the head of the Owls told him with a smile. “In fact, he has given me the perfect lead in to my speech. Fellow residents of Bluebell,” he continued then, addressing the whole room. “We are here to talk about this year’s Man of the Year, an upstanding citizen of our little town who has proven himself to be responsible, community-minded, and the kind of person we can all look to with affection and respect. So, please join me and my fellow members of the Bluebell Fraternal Order of the Owls in celebrating this year’s MOTY. Mr Wade Kinsella.”

Zoe didn’t think she had ever seen a person looked so shocked as Wade did right in that moment. It might’ve been amusing if she wasn’t quite surprised by the turn of events herself. Everyone around them was applauding and cheering, JT was giggling and waving his arms around, trying to join in, and Wade just stared blankly at it all, apparently unable to comprehend what he just heard.

“Wade Kinsella, that would be you, man,” Lavon prompted him.

“You knew about this?” he asked his friend, shaking his head. “How in the hell...?”

“Just get on up there!” said Lavon firmly, encouraging him out of his seat.

Zoe immediately moved over so she was closer to JT and could keep an eye on him as Wade went up to speak with Dash and confirm this wasn’t some kind of mistake. Zoe quickly realised that it couldn’t possibly be. After all, though Wade may not have been the community’s idea of an upstanding citizen when she first arrived in Bluebell, he absolutely fit the bill now. Stepping up to raise JT the way he had, graciously accepting help from those that offered and trying, in every way he could, to pay back the kindness he was shown. Not every man would behave the way he had these past couple of months. Not every man would continue to treat a kid so well, knowing they might not even be the father.

“I really, really hope we get a miracle in those results today, kid,” she told JT softly, smiling when he grinned back at her, looking so much like Wade.

Zoe didn’t know whether to take that as a good sign or not. She so wanted to believe that JT was Wade’s son, and not just because it would break his heart not to be, though that was a large part of it. Selfishly, Zoe couldn’t imagine her own life without the kid in it now either. She certainly couldn’t see a time when she wouldn’t want Wade around.

“Can you believe this?” he asked, returning to the table with Lavon. “Me? Man of the Year?”

“I can believe it,” Zoe assured him, hopping up to meet him. “Congratulations,” she said, putting her arms around him for a hug and reaching up to kiss him too. “I happen to think you absolutely deserve your award,” she said, smiling as they parted.

“There are some crazy people in this town, doc, and you might just be one of ‘em these days,” he told her, still holding onto her as he smiled affectionately.

“I must be crazy, I’m dating you,” she countered, poking out her tongue.

JT giggled and clapped his hands getting everyone’s attention back as he usually did.

“You proud of your daddy, kid?” Lavon asked him. “Yes, sir, you are.”

That particular choice of words dimmed the smiles on both Wade and Zoe’s face, but thankfully, nobody else seemed to notice.

* * *

After breakfast, Lavon headed straight back to the plantation, but Wade and Zoe both declined the offer of going with him. Wade retrieved the stroller and baby bag from the car and walked with Zoe towards City Hall.

“You dead-set on this whole name change thing?” he asked her as they got nearer to the building.

“Yes and no.” Zoe sighed. “I just don’t see the point in carrying around the name of a man who I’m not technically even connected to. It might be different if he wanted to be a part of my life, but Ethan Hart has made it pretty clear that he’s done with being my dad,” she said, eyes to the ground as they stopped walking. “I guess I can’t really blame him.”

“Hey,” said Wade, tilting her chin up with one finger until she met his eyes. “It is his loss, Zoe, that much I do know.”

She smiled and rose up on her toes until her lips met his in a sweet kiss. “Thank you,” she told him softly, sobering up from what might have been a nice moment when she recalled that half the town was watching. “So, you headed for the Hattenbargers now?” 

“In a while,” Wade confirmed. “Gonna go pay the old man a visit first, then I’ll drop off my boy, head on back to the Rammer Jammer for work.”

“Then home to get ready for your party, Mr Man of the Year,” Zoe reminded him with a grin.

“Yeah, I guess so,” he said, nodding his head, eyes straying to JT in the stroller.

Wade’s sunny expression grew cloudy then and Zoe knew why.

“Hey,” she said, her hand at his face making him look at her this time. “Whatever those results say today, you are still a good man, Wade Kinsella, and you have been everything JT needs these past few weeks. You’ve been his dad, no matter what biology says.”

He ought to believe what she said, after all, she had experience of a non-biological father, they had just said as much.

“You know, crazy as it’d probably make me, I’d keep on doing just what I have been even if he wasn’t mine,” he admitted. “Still, be better if he was, obviously.”

Zoe nodded in understanding, kissing him one more time before they parted. She had to get to work herself and so hurried into City Hall to get her papers and ran back out again to head on to the practice. Her eyes were on her papers as she walked along, but she glanced up just in time to see a familiar face approaching.

“Eyes on the road,” she joked since all his focus seemed to be on his cell.

George looked up fast and smiled when he saw Zoe. “Sorry, I think I missed a call from my mother. Honestly, I’m not sure I want to have that conversation right now.”

“Does she know about... um, the wedding and everything,” said Zoe carefully.

“She knows me and Lemon are done,” George confirmed. “Kinda why I don’t wanna talk to her right now. Lord knows I love my momma, but her opinions on Lemon, well, even after everything, I could live without that.”

“Understandable.” Zoe nodded.

“So, I heard Wade got Man of the Year,” said George then. “Sorry I missed the announcement.”

“It was kind of a surprise,” said Zoe, before realising how that sounded and shaking her head. “I didn’t mean... Obviously, I know Wade is great,” she said definitely, “but I didn’t even know the MOTY was a thing until today.”

“I see why Wade was chosen.” George nodded. “He was always a good guy, he just maybe didn’t always show it. Now, with JT, and with you too, I guess this town is finally seeing the person some of us already knew Wade Kinsella could really be. I happen to think that’s a good thing.”

“Me too.” Zoe smiled wide.

“Never thought I’d see the day when the best father I knew was Wade,” George considered then. “Makes you think.”

“It’s certainly made me think,” said Zoe with a sigh, showing him the papers in her hand. “My best attempts to rebuild my relationship with my dad, Ethan Hart, don’t seem to have gone so well, and since he’s not really my father anyway...”

“Wow,” said George, eyes widening some. “So, you’d be Zoe... Wilkes?”

“I honestly don’t know,” she admitted, shrugging her shoulders. “I thought about it, but I didn’t even know him. We talked once, really briefly, and... Do you even think he would approve of that?”

“Zoe, I am certain,” said George, pressing the papers back into her hand, “that Harley Wilkes would be the proudest man in the world to know you wanna take his name. Bet you he’s looking down on us right now and thinking how amazing it is that he produced a daughter like you.”

Zoe smiled at the sweet words, hoping the fact her eyes were welling up didn’t show too much.

“Thank you, George,” she forced out around the lump in her throat. “I’ll definitely be thinking about it some more.”

He nodded his understanding as they parted ways then, George’s cell phone ringing into life as he went. Zoe hurried towards the practice, aware that she would be late if she didn’t and that would only make Brick mad at her. She never heard any part of George’s conversation with his mother and, for now, completely missed the opportunity to return the favour of being there for a friend in need.


	19. Chapter 19

“You know I appreciate you offering to babysit and all, Lemon, but you really didn’t have to get here so early,” said Wade, only half-dressed and still trying to get his hair dry from the shower. “Also, wouldn’t you rather actually be at the party?”

Wade wasn’t sure if Lemon was ignoring him on purpose or just so taken with JT that she barely heard him at all. She sure did like to make a fuss of the kid, as proven by the teddy bear she brought for him when she came over today. Right now, she seemed too concerned with making the thing dance and talk in front of JT to worry about what he was saying. Wade took the opportunity to put on his new shirt and fix his hair before he had to head over to Lavon’s place.

It shouldn’t be such a big deal. After all, nobody was coming along to the shindig that Wade didn’t know or like. The whole point was that it was a party in his honour. He found himself smiling into the mirror as he checked himself over.

“I swear I never did see a day comin’ when I’d be the MOTY,” he said more to himself than to Lemon, though she answered all the same.

“I never saw a day when you behaved like the kind of man that deserved such an honour,” she said, glancing over at him. “Of course, that doesn’t mean I didn’t always know that, in your heart at least, you were that man, Wade Kinsella.”

He smiled at her then, he couldn’t help it. For all that Lemon Breeland could be a Class A bitch when she put her mind to it, she also had the capacity for being a real good friend. On top of that, whether she was being nice or nasty, Wade knew that, to him at least, she always did speak the truth.

“I guess when somebody goes ahead and drops a baby in your lap, it changes a person,” he said, walking over to where JT was rolling around on his play mat with Lemon sat nearby. “You sure have turned my world upside down, bubba,” he told the little boy. “All been for the best though. Pretty sure I wouldn’t have this award without you either.”

“I don’t know about that.” Lemon shook her head making her blonde curls bounce around. “You were already changing, Wade, any fool could see that. Certainly, JT sped up the process some, but it wasn’t just him coming into your life that made you show your true, caring, decent man colours. You know as well as I do, a certain New York City doctor started it all off.”

Wade opened his mouth to argue before realising he couldn’t at all. Zoe had made a difference to him, that was true enough. He never had felt this way about a woman before and wondered if he ever could again. Just as he thought as much, his cell phone started ringing and he pulled it from his pocket.

“Talk of the devil,” he said, checking the screen. “Hey, doc.”

“Wade, I’m so sorry about this but I’m still at the practice,” she said fast in his ear as Wade got up from the floor and paced a little.

“Some kind of emergency?” he checked.

“Yes and no,” Zoe explained. “It’s been a heck of a day. I think I’ve had as many people in here to tell me what a lucky woman I am to be dating the MOTY as I have actual patients.”

“Well, you can’t exactly say they’re wrong, can ya?” Wade said with a grin.

Zoe chuckled in his ear. “Not really, and I didn’t try,” she assured him. “Anyway, I’m just about done here but I also had a call from Sam, you know, at the lab?”

The smile dropped off Wade’s face in a second and he was only glad he had his back to Lemon and JT, and the couch to sink down onto when he realised this could be the moment when his world just fell apart. He would hope that Zoe would give him the news face to face. The fact she was doing it over the phone only seemed to confirm his worst fears.

“You got the results,” he said flatly.

“I didn’t,” Zoe countered. “That’s why Sam called, there has been huge problems at the lab and he doesn’t have an answer for me yet. He promises it’ll be in the next couple of hours, so I thought it was better if I stayed here, by myself, then when the results come in, well, I can get them right away and come tell you.”

Wade nodded his head, remembering that didn’t work over the phone when Zoe prompted him with his name.

“Yeah, I understand,” he told her, running a hand over his hair and messing it up again. “Uh, I guess I’ll see ya when I see ya, at the party.”

“At the party,” she echoed back. “You know, you should try to enjoy tonight, Wade. I know it’s not easy, but please try. You deserve it and everything could still turn out okay. I know it’s probably not much consolation right now, but even if we don’t get the result we’re hoping for... well, I’ll still be here for you.”

It was the sweetest thing she could’ve said, and despite everything, it did help a little.

“Thank you, Zoe,” he said softly. “Uh, but I should go, get on over to Lavon’s before he comes looking for me. I’ll see you later, sweetheart.”

They said their goodbyes and hung up the phone, Wade sitting on the couch for a few moments after, just staring into nothing. He didn’t notice Lemon approaching with JT in her arms until she sat down right beside him, putting the little boy in his lap.

“JT wants to say goodnight to his daddy,” she said with a look that told Wade not to argue with her wording at all. “He’s real proud to be called your son, aren’t you, baby?” she said to JT who grinned as he flung his little arms around Wade, as best as a child his size could.

“I love you, bubba,” Wade told the little boy, kissing the top of his head. “And your Aunt Lemon ain’t so bad either,” he said, finding her a weak smile.

“High praise from the Man of the Year,” she said, smirking back at him. “Now, get along with you, Wade Kinsella. Go enjoy your party,” she insisted, lifting JT back into her arms. “John-Thomas here is going to get himself some shut-eye and I have a never-ending list of wedding things to continue cancelling.”

Wade didn’t argue with her. It was a fool that tried such a thing with Lemon Breeland. Besides, it was like Zoe said, he ought to try to enjoy his party tonight and all that went with it. Being the MOTY was a big deal, something that was likely to come to him only once in a lifetime. Seemed a shame to waste it.

* * *

Though Wade did his best to throw himself into the swing of his MOTY party, it didn’t come easy to keep the smile on his face when so many people were talking about what a great father he was the whole time. The constant reminder of the DNA test results, along with the absence of Zoe that he had to explain as her being tied up at the practice, was just too much. He ended up in the kitchen by himself, beer in hand and a sour expression on his face.

“Hey now, you can’t be hidin’ out here at your own party,” Lavon insisted, coming to lean on the counter beside him.

“Says who?” Wade countered, taking a long drink.

“Wow. For a man who has a great kid, a beautiful and intelligent girlfriend, and a Man of the Year Award comin’ his way to boot, you ain’t exactly in the best mood.”

“Yeah, well, I have my reasons.” Wade sighed, putting his empty beer bottle down on the counter with a thunk. “I’m sorry, man,” he told Lavon then, shaking his head. “It’s not... I just got a lot on my mind. I appreciate the party and all. You throw one hell of a shindig,” he assured him with a smile that was somewhat forced.

“Lavon Hayes does know how to throw-down a hoe-down,” his friend agreed with a chuckle. “Pretty sure I invited everybody you’d want here. I know you and Lemon been talkin’ like buddies lately and I did make sure she was asked, but message came back from Tom Long that she turned us down, so...”

“Lemon feels a might awkward, I reckon,” said Wade with a significant look on his face. “I’m guessin’ that’s why she’s back at the gatehouse watchin’ my boy right now, instead of partying with the rest of us.”

“She’s at your place?” asked Lavon, ears perking up at that news. “Uh, all by herself?”

“Well, JT is there too,” Wade reminded him with a smirk he couldn’t help, “but yeah, Lemon came alone to play baby sitter.”

Lavon was no longer looking at his friend, his eyes fixed on the back door as he clearly contemplated his next move. Wade gave it all of a few seconds thought before he put a hand on Lavon’s shoulder and got his attention back.

“Go,” he said firmly. “We both know you got things to say to her, and right now, she can’t exactly run out on ya when you try, so just do it already. At least that way you’ll know for sure.”

After a second or two, Lavon nodded his head, grinning and thanking Wade before slipping off out of the door and presumably hightailing it over to the gatehouse to have a long-awaited talk with a newly-single Lemon. Wade watched him go and shook his head, smiling nonetheless. Those two did seem like a crazy pairing to him, but if they made each other happy, then he was cool with it.

Reaching for another beer, Wade hoped to be left alone a while longer, but no such luck. Shelley was determined that since it was his party, he really ought to be in the middle of it, dragging him out to mingle and all. He let himself be taken along, only because he knew he didn’t really have a good excuse not to, not without telling the whole room the whole truth, and that sure as hell wasn’t happening.

Fortunately, not long after, Dash went over to the podium that had been set up and declared it was time for the MOTY speech.

“Mr Mayor?” he called, eyes searching the room. “Mayor Lavon Hayes!” he yelled more loudly. “Now, where is that man? We need this speech to be made.”

“I’m here!” said a voice that was distinctly not Lavon.

All eyes went to the back door as Zoe came stumbling in. Wade wanted to rush straight to her and ask what had happened but never got the chance.

“Hey, Dash,” she said, going over to the podium, glancing very quickly at Wade before her eyes returned to the leader of the Owls. “So, Lavon is kind of tied up for the moment. He asked me to give the speech in his place,” she declared, smiling widely.

“Well, it’s a little unorthodox...” Dash complained.

“Come on, who better to make a real rousing speech about Wade Kinsella than me?” she said, grinning yet and causing Wade to do the same as she winked at him from the podium when she finally got Dash to move aside. “Okay. So, welcome everybody,” she began then, addressing the assembled crowd. “We are all here tonight to celebrate Bluebell’s Man of the Year, Wade Kinsella. Now, some might say he hasn’t always been the obvious choice for MOTY. Certainly, when I first met him, I wouldn’t have thought so,” she said, rolling her eyes, and making everybody laugh. “But the more I got to know Wade, the more I realised that what seemed like a callous attitude and bad boy antics was just a facade. Underneath it all, Wade is such a kind, decent, sweet man. He helped me out so many times when I first arrived in Bluebell. He was a friend to me when I was very short on those, and later, we... well, we got closer, and that’s going pretty well too,” she admitted, clearly fighting a blush as it rose in her cheeks.

Wade wasn’t sure what to think when she met his eyes then, but it all seemed very significant as she went on with her speech.

“But I think the most amazing thing about Wade Kinsella, and something that we’ve all noticed, is what a wonderful father he is, however unexpected the circumstances. JT is a very lucky kid to have Kinsella blood running through his veins,” she said pointedly, with tears welling in her eyes that probably meant nothing to anyone but her and Wade. “He’ll grow up to be a good man someday, just like his daddy before him,” she said shakily, hands gripping the podium. “To Wade Kinsella,” she said, realising too late that she had no glass to toast with, but that didn’t stop everyone else.

In a second, Zoe was stepping out from behind the podium and rushing at Wade who was in no less of a hurry to get to her too. They hugged each other tightly, both crying for reasons no-one else in the room could understand.

“You mean it, doc?” Wade whispered in her ear, almost afraid he misunderstood somehow. “He’s really mine?”

She pulled back and took his face in her hands, eyes fixed on his own as she confirmed the truth.

“100%,” she promised. “Absolutely, no doubt whatsoever.”

Wade could do nothing but grin at her for a moment and then he kissed her as the crowd behind them cheered and applauded. There couldn’t have been a more perfect moment, though unfortunately, it didn’t last too long.

The back door clanged as Lemon came rushing in, tears on her cheeks that put Wade on high alert.

“What happened?” he asked desperately.

“JT is fine, I promise,” she swore to him. “Lavon is with him, but I had to come find Zoe.”

“Me?” Zoe gasped, shaking her head. “What is it?”

“George Tucker,” Lemon confessed, waving her cell phone in her hand. “He just called me from the hospital, he’s out of his mind with worry. Seems his Daddy had a heart attack or somethin’, early this mornin’. It’s pretty bad and... and he needs this operation. I don’t really understand the details,” she admitted, swiping tears from her eyes that wouldn’t stop coming. “George would never ask but... well, your father is the best in the world, isn’t he?”

Zoe glanced from Lemon to Wade and back, clearly weighing up the options for all of a few seconds, before making her choice.

“I’ll see if I can get his new number from my mom,” she said, nodding her head. “I’ll do whatever I can... for George.”


	20. Chapter 20

The party had cleared out within minutes, Wade had made sure of that. There was no way he could continue celebrating some dumb award he was getting when so many people he cared about were hurting so much. George Tucker’s daddy was in a bad way, so they said, and Lemon seemed to have gone to pieces on his behalf, though Wade suspected it was mostly guilt that was getting to her.

On top of that, there was Zoe to think of. Wade knew how much she wanted to separate herself from Ethan Hart after how he hurt her. She had papers from the court house that she was planning on filling out to get her name changed, most probably to Wilkes. Still, when the chips were down, Zoe could always be relied upon to do whatever she could for those she cared about, he learned that pretty fast.

Truth to tell, there was a part of Wade that was just a little bit uncomfortable with Zoe doing the biggest possible favour for Golden Boy George. It was petty and stupid, but knowing like he did how Zoe had felt for George just a few short months ago, it made him wonder. If he were completely honest, it was fear more than anything that was bothering him. George was newly single and vulnerable, looking for a shoulder to cry on, no doubt. If he picked Zoe, that didn’t necessarily mean she would choose him right back. Wade wanted to have more faith in her than that, but it didn’t come easy to a guy like him.

When the last of the guests were out of Lavon’s house, Wade took himself over to the carriage house to check on Zoe. Lemon had returned to the gatehouse after passing on the news about George’s father, promising to stay put with Lavon and JT until things were settled on what to do next. First thing first, Zoe had to get a hold of Ethan Hart and see if he would agree to come on down to Alabama to fix up old Harold Tucker.

As Wade passed her window, he saw Zoe sitting on the edge of her bed, still talking on the phone. He came to the door and found it open, letting himself in, just in time to hear her finish up her call.

“Okay, we’ll see you then. Bye.”

“I’m guessin’ he said yes?” Wade checked, hovering by the bedroom door.

“He did.” Zoe nodded. “Miracle of miracles,” she said then, rolling her eyes and tossing the phone behind her on the bed, like she couldn’t bear to look at it anymore. “Ugh, that was just...” she trailed off, her hands over her face a moment. “I hated having to go to him for a favour like that, after everything,” she grumbled, pushing her fingers back through her hair.

“You did a good thing for George,” said Wade, walking over to where she was sat and sinking to his knees in front of her. “He’ll be real grateful to ya.”

“I know,” Zoe agreed, smiling slightly as Wade took her hands into his own. “I wish that made me feel better. I mean, it does, obviously. George’s father is way more likely to get better with a great surgeon like Dr Ethan Hart working on him,” she said with a huge sigh. “I just... I could’ve lived without having to deal with this on top of everything else today, you know?”

Wade was pretty sure he would never have known what those last few words were if he hadn’t been so close to her in a silent room. Zoe lost her voice and the last ounce of control she had over her emotions then. Tears streamed down her face as she started sobbing and Wade quickly moved to sit beside her, pulling her into his arms as she cried.

Sure, the news about JT was the best it could be, and Ethan Hart agreeing to help out George’s father was great too, but that didn’t mean the last few days hadn’t been way too emotional, all told.

“Come on, baby. It’s gonna be just fine,” Wade promised Zoe, kissing her hair as she continued to cry, her face buried in his shoulder.

“I know,” she said eventually, trying to get herself under control as she pulled away a little. “I know I’m being so stupid.”

“Hey, you are _not_ stupid,” he said definitely, his hand at her cheek making her look at him. “Smartest woman I know, you got that?”

“Thank you,” she said, finding him a watery smile. “I was so relieved when I got the news from Sam about the DNA results.”

“Me too.” Wade nodded. “So, that whole blood group thing, how’s that shake out? I mean, the chances were supposed to be so tiny...”

“They were, they are,” Zoe confirmed, sniffling yet, even as she got her science on and explained it all. “Two O type parents will get an O type child almost every single time, but technically, any people with any blood groups can have a child of any blood group, due to mutation. It’s rare, but it happens, obviously. JT is just special, as if we didn’t already know that.”

Zoe smiled a watery smile and Wade returned the look.

“Mutation, huh?” he checked. “You tellin’ me our boy’s gonna be in the X-Men when he grows up? ‘Cause that’d be cool.”

It was a pleasure to hear Zoe laugh at his lame joke, if nothing else.

“Doubtful,” she told him, leaning further into his embrace. “It’s definitely nothing to worry about. In fact, tonight was supposed to be such a good night, with JT’s results and your award and everything. It was like things were finally going right, you know? Even for Lavon. When I came by the gatehouse on my way up to the party, I saw him and Lemon through the window.”

“They were havin’ that serious talk they’ve been needing for a while,” Wade agreed.

“Not when I saw them,” Zoe explained. “Lips were being used, but not for talking.”

“Well, what do you know? Guess they figured things out faster than even we thought they could.”

“I’m not sure if it changes things now that Lemon is so upset about George,” Zoe considered.

Wade shook his head. “I got a theory she’s mostly just shook up with shock and maybe even feelin’ a little guilty. I mean, moving on so fast to another man, guy she had an affair with no less, while George Tucker is worryin’ on his daddy maybe... Well, with him bein’ in the hospital and all,” he said instead.

Zoe sighed and leaned into his embrace for a while longer.

“I so don’t wanna deal with all of this, but I guess we don’t really have a choice. I need to tell George what’s happening and I should really be there at the hospital when my dad... when Ethan shows up for the operation.”

“That strictly necessary?” asked Wade then. “The you being at the hospital part?”

Zoe considered for a moment before answering. “Well, the doctors there could probably tell him more than I could. They have to have a heart specialist in Mobile, right? I guess I really don’t have to be there if I don’t want to, except... well, George probably needs support.”

“Lemon seemed pretty set on going along. I reckon Lavon is more’n ready to take her. He hadn’t had a whole lot to drink when I saw him last and all this bad news certainly sobers a body up. ‘Course, if you wanna go to the hospital, we can.”

“I really don’t,” she said definitely, shaking her head. “I can call George with the news and stay here, unless he really needs us, but I’m guessing the hospital waiting room will be crowded enough with all the Tuckers and potentially the Breelands too,” she decided. “As for Ethan Hart, if he wants to see me, he can come find me. I’m certainly not chasing after him anymore,” she said definitely, her hand landing on top of Wade’s own and intertwining their fingers.

“Sounds like a plan to me, doc,” he agreed, kissing the top of her head. “Now, it’s not that I exactly wanna leave you right now, but I gotta get back to my boy, let Lemon and Lavon know what’s goin’ on...”

“Sure, you go.” Zoe nodded, pulling out his arms. “I’m so sorry about your party.”

“Don’t even worry about it,” said Wade as he got up to leave, leaning down to plant a kiss on her forehead. “You make your call to George Tucker and then get yourself some sleep, okay?”

“Doctor’s orders?” she joked.

“Wade Kinsella’s orders,” he corrected with a smirk. “Way more important.”

A gurgle of laughter escaped Zoe’s lips but it was enough. She looked just a little happier than when he found her and Wade called that a win. Raising his hand in a wave goodbye, he finally left the carriage house, heading over to let Lemon and Lavon know the score so they could go to the hospital if they wanted.

Not long after, they were on their way, Lavon’s arm around Lemon’s shoulders as he led her to the car. Wade watched them from the window and then turned back into the room, checking on JT who slept soundly in his crib.

“Lot of excitement today, kid,” he said, leaning over the edge to watch his boy a while. “Coulda gone a lot worse though. Least we know for sure now that you are exactly who we thought you were, _son_ ,” he told JT with a smile that wouldn’t quit.

Kissing his fingertips, he gently stroked that kiss onto the baby’s hair. JT barely stirred at all, just slept on soundly, unaware of all the drama going on with everybody else. Far as Wade could tell, that was for the best.

It wasn’t exactly late yet, but Wade had no reason to try to keep himself awake. He tidied up some, then started stripping off his clothes, ready to hit the hay. He was down to just his jeans and half way to unbuckling the belt when he saw something move beyond the door. He frowned, refastening his pants and going over to see what was happening. Pulling open the door, he found Zoe hovering on the porch, looking unsure whether she was coming or going.

“Hi,” she said softly when she saw him staring at her. “I, uh... I was going to knock and then I remembered that JT would probably be asleep, so I didn’t.”

“What’s goin’ on?” Wade asked, more than a little confused by the way she was acting, and also the way she was dressed, truth be told.

“I got ready for bed,” she explained, gesturing to her skimpy top and shorts combo that she wore underneath a flimsy robe, “planned to get some sleep, like you said, but... This is so stupid,” she admitted, pushing her hair back off her face in a nervous gesture. “I kind of just didn’t want to be alone. Would it be too weird if I stayed here tonight?” she asked, looking pained.

Wade felt a sigh of relief leave his lungs. He really thought something was seriously wrong for a minute there.

“Get in here, girl,” he said, opening the door up wider and ushering her inside.

Zoe smiled widely as she crept by him into the gatehouse. “You know I meant the couch, right?” she said then, smile replaced by that same nervous look from before. “I wasn’t... I mean, I just...”

Wade leaned down, his hand at her cheek as he softly kissed her lips. “Before you start freaking out,” he said softly then, “you can take the bed and I’ll take the couch,” he told her easily. “Come on, doc, wouldn’t be the first time for that particular arrangement now, would it?”

He smirked when he said it and she smiled in response, hoping she wasn’t also blushing. She remembered the night he spoke of all too well, when she was half-convinced she was being stalked by the ghost of Leon Mercy. Wade really had been there from her right from the start. Sure, he took every opportunity to see if he couldn’t get her into bed and Zoe was sure if she had agreed, it would’ve happened too, but he was never a bad guy, never super pushy or anything. She trusted him from almost the first day, strange as that sounded, and now, with them being so much closer...

“You know, nobody has to sleep on the couch,” she told him, her voice low for more reasons than just JT sleeping on the other side of the room. “Um, I mean, it’s a pretty big bed, plenty of room for two people who are just sleeping, right?”

Wade stared at her for what felt like a long time before he said anything.

“You serious?”

Zoe nodded her head. “I know what we have is kind of undefined and now really isn’t the time to have that talk, but the fact is, I trust you, Wade,” she told him easily. “You trust me, right?” she checked, holding out her hand.

He wrapped his fingers around hers and held on tight. “With my life,” he told her, smiling some.

She smiled right back as they walked over to his bed, hand in hand until they had to let go. Zoe slipped out of her robe and under the covers, turning her back to Wade while he took off his jeans and then joined her in bed. She did trust him, absolutely and completely, but that didn’t mean it didn’t feel a little weird sharing a bed with him like this.

“So, goodnight, I guess,” he said behind her.

Zoe bit her lip and then made a decision, turning over to face Wade.

“You know you don’t have to be all the way over there,” she told him, noting the vast space between them. “I mean, unless you want to be...”

Wade shook his head against the pillow and then shifted closer. Zoe did the same, hesitating just a little before reaching an arm across his chest. Wade’s arm went around her shoulders, pulling her into him until they were cuddled up close.

“This is okay, right?” she said, not daring to look at him.

“Works for me,” he told her, kissing her hair. “Goodnight, Zoe.”

“Goodnight, Wade,” she replied in a similarly soft tone, a smile playing at her lips as she let sleep claim her.


	21. Chapter 21

Zoe woke up from what felt like the best night’s sleep she’d had in a very long time. She wondered why that should be for a moment or two, then she moved a little and smiled as she remembered. It was a while since she had woken up in somebody’s arms, but it felt pretty good, not least because those arms belonged to one Wade Kinsella.

It was strange to think about the first night they met now. Zoe could hardly quantify how either of them were even the same people who had argued over the fuse box and then, not long after, made out in Wade’s car. She thought he was just a player then, and she knew that she had been a little too self-righteous in the beginning. In spite of that, here they were, the New York surgeon turned small town GP curled up in bed with the town bad boy turned father of the year, and nothing had even really happened last night either. No, that wasn’t true, Zoe thought. Nothing sexual had happened, but something else certainly had.

Smiling still, she pulled herself up some, until she was in easy reach of Wade’s lips and planted a kiss there. Zoe watched his eyes flicker and then slowly open to look at her.

“Hi,” she said, hoping she wasn’t blushing, feeling as if she might be in spite of everything.

“Hey,” he replied, moving the arm that wasn’t still around her to rub sleep from his eyes. “What time is it?”

“Early, I think,” Zoe admitted. “Sorry, I probably should’ve let you sleep longer.”

“’S okay, doc,” Wade assured her, though there was something not so okay about the expression on his face.

Zoe frowned some. “You look... weird.”

Wade laughed at her choice of word but didn’t take offence. “Thank you for that,” he said, pulling himself up against the headboard a little more, even as she continued to stare at him. “Look, it’s nothin’, I’m just... I’m thinking how I’m pretty sure I never woke up with a girl that I hadn’t... well, where we didn’t have sex first,” he admitted eventually. “Not that I’m complainin’,” he added fast, hands up in mock surrender before she could accuse him.

Zoe would’ve liked to say the thought hadn’t crossed her mind, but she didn’t like to lie, especially not now. Of course, she knew she needn’t have worried when Wade shifted closer and kissed her softly.

“You know, I knew from the first day I met you I wanted the chance to take you to bed,” he admitted with a smile, his hand lingering at her cheek. “The sleeping with you was the point then. Never did think much about how good it’d be to wake up with you after.”

The smile came back to Zoe’s lips, even wider and brighter than before as she moved to kiss Wade again. He wasn’t exactly objecting, pulling her closer as a sweet, tender moment grew into something more. Okay, so their first night sleeping together had involved nothing but sleeping so far, but Zoe had known for a while now that a leap into the next step was right around the corner for her and Wade. As they slipped back beneath the covers and he pulled her body tight against his own, it seemed like maybe there was no better time than the present to move this relationship forward.

Until JT started yelling.

It was tough to say who pulled back first, though neither Zoe nor Wade could exactly be offended by the other’s need to stop. There was nothing that mattered more to them than each other, except maybe the kid in the crib across the room.

“Yeah, I should...” said Wade, sounding as vague and dazed as he looked.

Zoe understood that feeling. “Uh-huh,” she replied, running a hand over her face and concentrating on breathing as Wade hopped out of bed to see to his son.

It was not easy to come back down from a high like that. Zoe could only imagine how good it was going to get when they really did get the chance to continue without interruption. Hopefully it would be sometime soon, because at this point, she was beyond ready.

* * *

It was a strange day, all told. Zoe had to go into work, not least because Brick had gone to Mobile in an attempt to bring Lemon home, as well as check how things were going with Harold Tucker’s operation. Zoe got a couple of texts from Lavon, confirming that George was doing okay, even if he wasn’t thrilled about his ex’s new guy/old affair hanging around. There was still so much to figure out there, but priority one was George’s father.

Of course, Zoe had trouble not thinking about Ethan Hart too. He had been her dad once, still was on paper, kind of. A part of her hoped she would get to see him while he was in Alabama, while another part dreaded having to face the reality of that situation. She tried to put it out of her head as she worked, but it didn’t come easy, except for in the times when her head was filled with another man instead.

Wade sent her a text after he dropped off JT and headed to the Rammer Jammer for work. He told her again how great it had been to wake up with her and made some allusions to what they had been doing before JT interrupted the fun too. Zoe wanted to tell him she would quite happily pick up where they left off sometime soon but didn’t know how to phrase it. She almost asked Addy’s advice but wasn’t sure she dared. Sometimes, she really wished she had more girl-friends.

Towards the end of her shift, Zoe started thinking about the texts again and wondering if she should have replied with something more than just a smiley face. She had the phone in her hand, staring at the messages when suddenly there was a knock on her office door.

“Hey,” she said, smiling when she realised Wade was standing there with JT on his hip. “I was just thinking about you.”

“You hear that, JT, we’re on the doc’s mind,” he said to his son. “Can’t be a bad thing.”

“Well, it was actually more you than him,” Zoe admitted, before realising what she was admitting too and backpedalling a little. “Not that I’m not pleased to see you too, kid,” she promised JT, taking him into his arms when he reached to go. “Don’t tell Daddy, but you are my favourite of all the Kinsellas,” she said in a whisper that Wade was absolutely supposed to hear and the smirk she wore ought to prove it.

“You know, old Earl is gonna be heartbroken he hears you talking like that,” Wade joked.

“Can’t help it.” Zoe shook her head. “This kid is too cute!” she insisted, making a huge fuss of JT who giggled and gave her a hug for her trouble. “Aww, and he loves me so much, don’t you?”

“That’s ‘cause he’s a smart kid. Knows a good thing when he sees one,” said Wade, looking as sincere as Zoe had ever seen him when their eyes met.

It wasn’t exactly ‘I love you’. Zoe would’ve been more than a little shocked if he had said those words, but he seemed to have come awfully close and Wade wasn’t taking it back either. Zoe wondered if her heart was thumping in her chest from excitement or panic, and decided in the end it was a little of both, not least because she realised she could so easily allow herself to say something similar back. How the hell had that happened anyway?

“Uh, so, this isn’t exactly a random visit,” said Wade then, shaking his head and reaching to take JT back into his arms. “Me and my boy here are headed home now and I was wondering if you needed a ride back?”

Zoe checked her watch and then asked Wade to wait a second while she ran out to reception to ask Addy if she had any more patients scheduled. Confirming that she didn’t, she came right on back and accepted Wade’s offer to take her back to the plantation.

“I had kind of an ulterior motive in offering you a ride,” he admitted once they were in the car, JT strapped in his seat in back while Zoe sat up front beside Wade. “Could you maybe keep an eye on my boy while I grab a shower and maybe clean up my place a little? I only need a half hour-”

“Wade, you know I will,” she told him easily. “It’s no problem.”

“She is the best, JT. No doubt about it,” he said, looking at his son in the rear-view before putting the car in gear and heading for home.

On the way, Zoe checked her phone and told Wade she had another message from Lavon. Harold’s surgery had gone well, so said the doctors at the hospital. At least that was one less thing to worry about.

“He’s a stubborn old man.” Wade nodded. “Prob’ly be back to normal in no time.”

Zoe didn’t even bother to explain about the actual recovery time after such invasive heart surgery. It wasn’t important right now. She would rather look on the positive side herself and believe George’s father was going to be just fine, and quickly too. She wanted no more stress and worry for her friend.

When they got back to the plantation, Zoe unstrapped JT from his seat and told him they were going to the carriage house for a while. Wade planted a quick kiss on her lips before he dashed towards the gate house. Zoe lifted JT’s arm to encourage him to wave to Daddy.

“Everybody should be so lucky as to have a daddy like yours, JT,” she told him, taking him inside and sitting down on the bed with her young charge. “You know, technically, I kind of had two fathers, one that I only met once, and another one that doesn’t even want to know me anymore. And yes, I know, your mother isn’t the best person, but I didn’t exactly luck out on the mom front either. Families, huh?”

“They’re not always so bad,” said Wade making Zoe jump what felt like a foot in the air.

“Are you trying to scare me to death?” she checked, but Wade only laughed.

“Sorry, doc,” he said, wandering over and kissing the top of her head. “One other small favour to ask of ya,” he said then, even as she noted the towel in his hands. “Havin’ some problems with my shower, so I thought maybe...”

“Yes, you can use mine.” Zoe rolled her eyes. “Anything else I can do for you today, master?” she joked then. “Cook your dinner, paint your house?”

“Well, if you weren’t doin’ the very important job of watchin’ my boy here I mighta asked you to scrub my back...” he told her, smirking hard.

“Get out of here,” said Zoe, throwing the nearest pillow in his general direction a moment before he ducked into the safety of the bathroom, chuckling all the way. “I take back all those nice things I said about your Daddy, JT!” she said, loud enough for Wade to hear.

“Don’t you listen to her, bubba. Your Aunt Zoe couldn’t say a mean thing about me if she tried.”

“That’s probably true actually,” she said softly to JT, “but don’t tell him I said that.”

There was no way Wade heard, not with the water running. Zoe was glad of the distraction of babysitting, since she knew where her mind would wander to otherwise. Naked Wade, right there in her bathroom. Maybe he had been joking about her joining him, but the idea didn’t sound half bad.

“Pure thoughts, Zoe. Come on, you’re not an animal,” she reminded herself, turning her full attention to JT and trying to keep him from tumbling off the bed when he made to crawl away from her.

She put him down on the floor and grabbed the bucket of building blocks that he seemed to like so much, showing him how to build a tower and counting the bricks. Zoe had read so much about child development since JT came into their lives and she was determined that he was going to be as stimulated as possible. He would be walking and talking and spelling and counting long before all the other kids, she was determined on that. Of course, it occurred to Zoe sometimes that JT wasn’t her son and that she wasn’t even absolutely sure how long they would be in each other’s lives, but she always dismissed those thoughts whenever they came up. It seemed too tough to think about it much.

JT’s arm suddenly shot out and knocked down the tower of blocks Zoe just built. She faked shock and a seriously sad pout at him spoiling her creation and he laughed at her dramatics. She reached for a block to begin rebuilding, only to be interrupted by a knock on the door.

“More visitors?” she said to JT, getting up from the floor and picking him up too, settling him on her hip as she went to see who was there. “I guess we should be glad this person knocks, but I don’t...”

Her words trailed away as she opened up the door and saw who was standing on the porch. In fairness, Ethan Hart looked equally as shocked as Zoe felt, his eyes shifting back and forth between her and the child in her arms.

“Uh, hi,” said Zoe awkwardly, adjusting her grip on JT when he wriggled to be set free. “What are you doing here?”

Ethan blinked too hard, mostly staring at JT yet. “Zoe, your mother didn’t... I mean, I didn’t know...”

“He’s not my son,” she said then, rolling her eyes. “Not that I could love him anymore if he was,” she admitted, kissing JT’s head. “I help take care of him. His dad is...”

“Somebody talkin’ about me?” said Wade as he appeared behind her.

Zoe wasn’t sure whether to be relieved by his presence or more panicked. It was something to realise he had actually bothered to get dressed before presenting himself to the man who had self-identified as her father for quite a while.

“Um, Wade Kinsella, Ethan Hart,” she said awkwardly, “and this is John-Thomas, Wade’s son. We call him JT.”

She was beginning to ramble, so Zoe bit her lip to stop herself from continuing in that direction. She looked to Wade for help but he seemed to be mostly focused on glaring at Ethan right now.

“Think maybe we should get out of your hair, doc,” he said then, finally looking down at her. “Figure you got a conversation you need to have here.”

Zoe nodded, handing JT over to his daddy before having to face the man she used to call by that name. Wade’s free arm slipped around her shoulders a moment and he pulled her closer.

“You need us, you just yell, alright?” he said softly near her ear.

“Thanks,” she said, smiling slightly as he kissed her cheek and then they parted.

Wade winked at her then hurried away down the porch steps and around the pond to the gate house. Zoe watched him until he was at least half way home before inviting Ethan Hart into her own house.

“I was surprised not to see you at the hospital,” he said, following her inside. “I had hoped that you would assist with the surgery.”

“I needed to be here,” Zoe snapped.

“For that man and his son?” Ethan checked.

“And for my job. I have responsibilities in Bluebell, and unlike some people, I take my responsibilities to other people very seriously,” she said, folding her arms across her chest.

“Zoe, come on.” Ethan shook his head. “You know, your mother, she didn’t tell me the truth for a long time, and when she did... You cannot understand how that felt.”

“I have a pretty good idea, _Dad_ ,” she said acidly. “You think you had it so tough, and yes, I know, it was hard on you, believe me, I do know, but it was harder on me. Can’t you understand that?” she asked him desperately. “You were my dad. Up until a few months ago, that is what I believed, and where were you? You just left me. You didn’t want to take my calls, you didn’t even come to my graduation. You hurt me over and over, and I blamed myself.”

“Zoe, sweetheart,” said Ethan as he approached her, but she backed up another step.

“No, you can’t just call me sweetheart and give me a hug and make it okay,” she insisted. “I know Mom was the one who lied and cheated, I get that, and believe me, she knows how I feel about it, but you did the wrong thing too,” she said definitely, determined to go on even as tears streamed from her eyes. “You know, a few days ago, there were some questions about JT’s paternity. Wade was devastated at the thought of JT not being his, and he’s only known the kid existed for a couple of months, but when we were waiting for the DNA results, do you know what he said to me? That he would be happy to go on bringing him up, even if he turned out not to be his son. He loves him that much already. You were my dad for _years_ and then suddenly, you were gone, like I didn’t even matter.”

“You’re over-simplifying, Zoe,” said Ethan with a look.

“No, I’m really not!” she yelled back at him before he had a chance to go on. “Even when you knew the truth, the relationship we had should’ve been enough. _I_ should’ve been enough,” she said, her hand on her chest, her voice choked with tears. She had to swallow hard before she could continue. “You know, what? I don’t think I can deal with having you around, any more than you could deal with being around me. Maybe we should just call it quits and stop torturing ourselves.”

“Zoe, that’s not... I don’t want things to end this way,” he told her sadly.

“I didn’t want it to end at all, _Ethan_ ,” she said pointedly, “but you made that choice, not me. Now, you did me a favour today. What you’ve done for George and his family, that was... I have to be grateful for that, and I am, but now, I think we should just draw a line and be done. You have your life, I have mine. Nobody owes anybody anything anymore, okay?”

She tried to look him in the eye when she said it but it didn’t come easy. Zoe acted tough, sometimes she actually felt as if she was that headstrong New Yorker she purported to be, but this stuff hurt. Dealing with the man she always thought was her father, telling him they were done and almost fearing he would agree with her more than she feared him fighting to stay.

“Okay,” he said eventually. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe it is for the best if I just... I’ll go,” he said, nodding his head and turning towards the door.

Zoe held it together, but only just, as he looked back at her.

“For what it’s worth, I am sorry, Zoe,” he said in a way that she actually believed somehow, and yet, he left right after without another backward glance.

As the door closed behind Ethan Hart, Zoe let out a cry and allowed herself to shed the tears she had been fighting all along. For a while she raged and cried, alone in her carriage house, letting out the last of the anger and pain and frustration, at least for now.

When it was over, she caught sight of herself in the mirror and was horrified by the state of her face, and yet as she met her own eyes in the glass, she knew the worst was over. She had said so many things that had been bottled up inside her too long, spoken her piece and made a clean break on her own terms. Taking a deep breath, she nodded her head once and turned away from the mirror, knowing that, painful as it was, she had done the right thing and would be better off for it in the long-term.


	22. Chapter 22

“You are doing so well, Earl. You should be proud of yourself,” Zoe told him with a smile, making a note on the clipboard. “Getting over an addiction like this is not easy, especially so suddenly and after so long, but you’re making excellent progress.”

“Well, thank you, pretty doctor,” he said, grinning at her. “I guess I finally got myself somethin’ worth tryin’ that little bit harder for.”

Zoe opened her mouth to say something then but closed it again fast. She tried to keep the frown off her face but clearly didn’t manage too well as Earl sighed.

“I know what you’re thinkin’,” he told her, rubbing his forehead as if it ached, though Zoe recognised it as a similar gesture to one Wade would go to when nervous or embarrassed. “I shoulda give up the bottle long ago for my boys.”

“That’s really not my place to say, Earl,” Zoe assured him, shaking her head. “I can’t imagine how hard it was for you when you lost your wife. Having to cope with two young sons and everything.”

“My Jackie, she was the love of my life,” he said, swallowing hard. “And it was the hardest thing I have ever been through, losing her that way, but I know I shoulda tried harder. Jesse and Wade, they didn’t deserve my goin’ to pieces on top o’ everything else but... well, I can’t go back and change it now. All I can do is my best for Wade and lil’ JT and hope it’s enough.”

Zoe smiled at that. “I know for a fact that Wade appreciates the effort,” she confirmed. “He was just telling me the other day how proud he is of you and what a great grandpa you’re being to JT.”

“I love that boy to death.” Earl smiled. “Both of ‘em, truth to say, but then I guess you can understand that feelin’ well enough,” he said with a look.

It seemed easier to turn away and hide her face when Zoe felt her cheeks start to burn. There was no way she was comfortable talking to Earl about her feelings for Wade. They hadn’t really had that conversation themselves, so certainly nobody else needed to be dragged into the mix, not yet.

“They’re both great,” she said instead, setting her clipboard down on the counter. “I don’t need to tell you that. I’m very happy spending time with them. Now,” she continued, turning back to face him with a business-like expression, “you have two more sessions booked in at the clinic, I’ve written down the dates and times, so you won’t forget,” she said, handing him the card. “Anything else you need to talk about?”

“Not that I can think.” Earl shook his head, hopping down from the exam table and pocketing the card. “You know, there’s times I see your daddy in you. ‘Course you’re much prettier than ol’ Harley ever was,” he told her with a grin, “but you got that same... oh, what in tarnation is the word?” he asked, waving his hands in a vague gesture that Zoe hadn’t a clue how to interpret.

“Um, the same skills?” she guessed. “With us both being doctors?”

“Nah, that ain’t it. You got the same... you know, way of caring. Oh, what’s that thing the young folks say? Same vibe or somethin’.”

“Oh, okay,” Zoe tried and failed to stifle a giggle. “Well, I guess that’s to be expected, given that he was my father,” she considered. “It’s nice to hear though, since I don’t really have any first-hand experience of what Harley was like.”

“He was a good man, that’s what he was,” Earl confirmed. “Good doctor too, just like you are. Betcha he’d be darn proud to see ya here, doin’ good works for the same folks he did.”

Zoe felt her eyes tear up at the sound of those words and fought hard to keep from all-out crying.

“Thank you, Earl,” she told him, her hand briefly on his arm. “That really means a lot to me. Especially now. You know, I filed the paperwork just this morning to change my name. Shouldn’t be too long before there’s a new Dr Wilkes in town,” she said with a smile.

“Sounds good to me, pretty doctor.” Earl grinned back at her. “Yep, that sounds real good.”

Zoe watched him leave the office then and continued to smile. It was nice to have somebody to talk to about her real dad and about Wade too. Earl was the prime candidate for all of that and since he decided to make a real effort to get over his addiction, they could finally have real conversations. Zoe wasn’t sorry about that.

He was one of a few people she had told about her efforts to change her name. Wade knew, obviously, as did Lavon, but that was about all. For a while there, she wondered if she made the right choice, even after her blow-out with Ethan Hart. A week on from that particular confrontation, she was so sure her decision was the correct one. She was looking forward to being Dr Zoe Wilkes and couldn’t imagine ever regretting the decision.

A knock on the door startled her and she turned fast to see Addy poking her head in.

“I got Tom Long out here, reckons he needs to see you on account of an emergency that is, and I quote, not for public consumption,” she explained, rolling her eyes. “Not sure when I became the public, but it seems like only you can help him.”

Zoe chuckled at that. “Send him in please, Addy, and I’ll see what I can do. If you could just grab his records for me too?”

“I’m on it.”

“Thank you!”

Before Tom had a chance to get into the exam room, Zoe put away the paperwork from Earl’s visit and gave her cell phone a quick glance. She had one new text from Wade, responding to her own message that confirmed their date for tonight. She grinned and sent him a smiling emoji back that matched the look on her face.

For once, she had planned their date instead of him and it was going to be a memorable one. Annabeth had agreed to have JT over at her house for babysitting and to keep him there all night. Zoe hadn’t told Wade that part yet, but she would, when the time was right. She hoped he wouldn’t object at all and couldn’t really believe that he would, not when he found out just exactly what she had planned.

* * *

As Lavon and Wade passed the Butter Stick, the latter pushing JT in his stroller, somebody stepped out of the door without looking and just about ploughed right into them.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” said George, glancing up and realising who was there, his expression shifting in a second.

“Hey there, Tucker,” said Wade, looking between his two friends with unease. “How’s your dad doin’?”

“Better.” George nodded, shifting his focus entirely to Wade. “He’ll be in the hospital a few more days, but he’s gettin’ stronger all the time, thanks to Dr Hart... Sr,” he added, shaking his head.

“Well, before long you won’t need to be all that specific,” Wade continued, knowing Zoe wouldn’t mind him sharing the news with George and needing anything to say that might stop his friends coming to blows yet. “You know she’s making the switch to Wilkes just as soon as the papers go through.”

“Wow. She talked about it but I didn’t know she made the decision. Guess it makes sense though.” George nodded. “When folks let you down, that’s pretty hard to swallow,” he continued, turning eyes like steel on Lavon.

“Come on now, George,” he said, shaking his head. “You know I have apologised for what happened, but it was a good while ago now and I couldn’t change it, even if I wanted to.”

“Which you don’t, I’m guessin’?” said George with a look.

Lavon stood his ground and tilted his chin. “I ain’t gonna lie to your face, man. I love Lemon Breeland, have for a long time. Now, I’m sorry if that hurts you-”

“It doesn’t,” George insisted. “You can love Lemon, Lavon. Hell, you can date her, you can throw a parade in her honour, it doesn’t hurt me anymore,” he insisted, “but don’t you expect me to understand what you did behind my back. Just don’t expect me to ever understand that,” he said, pointing an angry finger at the mayor before stalking off down the street.

Wade heaved a sigh and shook his head. “Well, I guess that coulda gone worse. ‘Course it also coulda gone better,” he considered.

“I shoulda known he still wouldn’t be over this. Hell, it’s only been a couple o’ weeks since he found out the truth,” Lavon considered. “You think he’ll get there someday?”

“Maybe.” Wade shrugged. “Tough to say with Tucker, but I figure after a while he’ll come to realise that it ain’t worth holdin’ a grudge. Hell, he’s let me off the hook for plenty over the years. Not that I went and slept with his fiancee, but I done plenty of other things, believe me.”

“Oh, I do believe,” Lavon said, smiling slightly. “’Course we talkin’ about the Wade Kinsella of old,” he mused as they continued walking. “Things are very different nowadays.”

“Yes, sir, they are.” Wade nodded. “Gotta get my boy here over to Annabeth Nass in a while. Zoe and me, we got ourselves a date tonight.”

“I hope you are taking her someplace special.”

“Check this out, _she_ is taking _me_ out,” said Wade with a look. “All her idea, she insisted on it.”

“Big Z is quite the progressive lady.” Lavon nodded. “So, you two get the big night out, and me and Lemon have to keep hidin’ in corners as if we doing something wrong, even though we ain’t no more. Ain’t life grand?”

Wade sighed and shook his head. “Hey, JT, can you do somethin’ to cheer up Uncle Lavon already? He’s really killin’ my buzz about my date with Aunt Zoe tonight.”

JT tipped his head back, looked right at Lavon and blew a raspberry, making the man laugh heartily.

“Yeah, that’ll work every time,” he admitted as the guys headed on down the street.

* * *

Wade hadn’t been expecting much when he went over to Zoe’s place to pick her up for their date. Despite the fact she had arranged the whole thing, she had text and asked him to come by the carriage house at seven thirty, and so that was exactly what he had done. Not knowing what she had planned, he put on a smarter pair of jeans than usual and a nice button-down shirt, just in case she had a mind to take him somewhere fancy. He was going to ask her about it when she answered the door, but his knock was met with silence and he ended up letting himself in, eyes widening at the sight of a small table, just big enough for two, set up not far into the main room.

“Zoe?” he called to her, feeling all the more bowled over when she appeared from the bathroom in the most stunning dress, that somehow managed to seem classy despite showing everything she had to full advantage.

“Hey,” she said, smiling as she walked over and kissed him ‘hello.’ “So, I thought maybe instead of going out on our date, we could stay in instead?” she suggested, gesturing to the table. “Don’t worry, I didn’t even try to cook. This is all ordered in from Fancie’s.”

Wade nodded, dumbstruck by the whole affair, but not disliking any part of the date so far. He was pretty sure he managed to tell Zoe she looked stunning and when they sat down to eat, he definitely enjoyed the food. Still, there was a nagging thought in the back of his mind that wouldn’t quit the whole time, and he wasn’t sure yet how to verbalise it.

Somehow, Zoe was the one woman Wade didn’t exactly feel comfortable talking to about sex. It was different when they first met, when he figured she’d be just another woman he could get into bed and that would be that. Things had changed an awful lot in the past few months. Now, what he felt for Zoe was so much more, the very idea of screwing up with her just filled him with dread. This whole date thing seemed to be leading only in one direction, or so Wade figured, and yet to ask her that and be wrong, it just wasn’t worth it.

“You’re okay with the wine, right?” she asked, adding a little more to his glass. “I know you usually prefer beer, but it wouldn’t really go with the food-”

“Wine’s just fine,” Wade assured her before she hit full-on ramble mode. “Food’s been great too. It’s a real nice meal, doc.”

“Good, that’s... good,” she said, picking at what remained of her dessert.

“You not liking yours so much?” asked Wade warily. “I didn’t think there was a dessert in the world a woman wouldn’t eat, given half the chance.”

“Well, not all women are the same,” said Zoe, sounding just a little snappy and letting Wade know he inadvertently hit a nerve.

“I know that,” he assured her, reaching for her hand across the small table between them. “Zoe, come on now. You know that when it comes to you... well, I ain’t exactly sure I know how to put it into words, but you know, right?”

“I think so,” she agreed, nodding her head. “And you know that I... What I’m trying to say is, I feel the same way about you, Wade. God knows, I never expected to, but I really, really do,” she told him with a smile that he loved to see.

“Sounds good to me, doc,” he said, smiling back and squeezing her hand before letting go so they could both continue eating.

When dessert was done, Wade sat back in his chair, only just now noticing there were a few more candles around than he remembered seeing in Zoe’s place before, and actually, he wouldn’t be surprised if she told him the bed looked different too, though he wasn’t sure he could put his finger on exactly what had changed.

“So, I have a confession to make,” said Zoe suddenly, eyes on the napkin in her lap as she folded and re-folded it pointlessly.

“Should I be worried about that?” Wade checked, trying to meet her eyes but she evaded too well.

“No, not worried. Nobody should be worried, it’s just... Well, when I asked AB if she would take care of JT tonight for our date, I kind of said it’d be really helpful if she could have him overnight,” Zoe admitted, finally glancing up at Wade.

“Uh-huh,” he said, nodding his head. “So, you were planning on seducing me?” he asked as seriously as he could, though it didn’t really come off as the grin he tried to suppress overcame him.

“Maybe,” she admitted, blushing furiously and never looking more beautiful to him. “It seemed like a good idea at the time, but I never really did this before, and now, I just feel kind of stupid.”

Wade took pity on her, getting up from his chair and moving closer, holding out a hand for her to take and helping her to her feet.

“I’ll tell you this much, doc, you don’t _look_ stupid,” he assured her, eyes travelling from her head to toes and back again, lingering in the places most designed to get his attention. “You know, for somebody who told me a while back they don’t exactly have much experience in this area, I’d say you’re doing a real good job with all o’ this.”

“Really?” Zoe asked, one eyebrow quirked. “Well, come over here, cowboy, because I’m not done yet,” she told him, pulling on his hand, presumably feeling more confident off the back of his compliments.

He shifted closer, arms sliding around her as her own went up around his neck. She went up on her toes as he leaned down and met her half way in a searing kiss. It started out like it always did, they knew the steps by now and followed them faithfully, but when they landed up on the bed, her quick fingers working their way down his shirt buttons, his hand sliding up under the hem of her dress, it all got pretty serious, pretty fast.

“You sure about this, Zoe,” Wade checked between kisses.

“Oh, yeah,” she told him breathlessly. “You?”

“Hell, yes,” he confirmed, the both of them grinning as they fell back into each other and the beautiful feeling that came with getting this close, at last.


	23. Chapter 23

“So, I’m thinking maybe I should plan more of our date nights,” said Zoe, grinning overly much as she sat on the end of the bed after fastening her shoes. “Last night was pretty successful, right?” she called towards the bathroom.

“Can’t exactly argue with you there, doc,” Wade agreed as he strolled back through to the bedroom, pulling his shirt back on. “Now, not that I’m complainin’ at all, but I shoulda left to go pick up my boy at least ten minutes ago,” he said, checking his watch.

“You really should’ve started getting ready sooner,” Zoe advised, hardly able to keep a straight face at all.

“Oh, really?” Wade chuckled, pulling her up by her wrists and wrapping his arms around her. “’Cause I think I got started with plenty of time to spare, at least, I woulda been fine if a certain doctor hadn’t started somethin’ of her own when I was tryin’ to take a shower.”

“I didn’t hear you complaining at the time.” Zoe giggled, right before he kissed her.

“That is because, despite what you may have heard, I am no fool, doc,” said Wade softly, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Yeah, last night, and this morning too, it was all pretty special.”

“For me too,” Zoe agreed meeting his eyes, “but we really should get going before we’re even later,” she said regretfully. “AB is probably wondering where we are.”

Wade nodded then kissed her one more time before heading for the door. He turned back at the last moment and stared at Zoe with a frown.

“Hold on a second, we?” he checked. “You’re comin’ along?”

“Oh, well, not if you don’t want me to.” Zoe shook her head. “Sorry, I just assumed... and you know how they say you should never assume,” she said, nervous laughter trickling out amongst the redundant words.

Wade crossed the room back to her side and reached for her hand.

“Zoe, I would love for you to come with me,” he assured her. “To AB’s house right now, and pretty much to anyplace else, anytime you want.”

Zoe swallowed hard, feeling stupid that she was actually tearing up when he said that. She knew whatever was between them was pretty serious these days, at least on her side, but still they had never really talked about it. It was always more hinted at than stated as fact, until now.

“Look,” said Wade, as serious as she had ever seen him, “I know we have been dancin’ around this whole girlfriend-boyfriend thing for a while now without ever makin’ anything official. It’s not that I don’t... Aw, hell, Zoe, this ain’t me. At least, it never was until... well, until you.”

“Wade, it’s okay,” she promised him. “It’s not like I know what I’m doing either. I’ve had precisely one long-term relationship and that really wasn’t as serious as it should’ve been. He was just a study buddy that I slept with and then we just kind of acted like a couple, but it wasn’t real. It didn’t feel like this,” she said, gesturing between them.

“Yeah, I know what you mean.” Wade nodded, hand going to her cheek as he leaned down to kiss her once again, lingering there with his forehead against hers. “So, since I’m pretty sure you don’t let things like last night happen with just anybody, I know you got a certain idea about what we’re doin’ here. A serious idea, right?”

“Pretty serious.” Zoe nodded in agreement.

“Alright then. So, I guess that makes this official, you and me, bein’... official.”

Zoe giggled. “Could you try saying it again without the shake in your voice?”

“I could try,” Wade agreed, biting his lip, “I just don’t know if it’s gonna work. Didn’t think anything could scare me to death like findin’ out I was a daddy, ‘cept for when I thought maybe I wasn’t for a while. Fact is, Zoe, I had to grow up fast when JT came along, I had no choice on it, but things were already changin’ before that. Ever since you come breezin’ into town, I’ve been trying to be somethin’ better.”

“You don’t need to be better, Wade,” Zoe insisted, keeping him close and meeting his gaze. “Sure, you maybe needed an extra shot of maturity,” she admitted, “but you’ve always been a good guy and I’ve always... Well, as infuriating as you were that first night, I thought even then there was something here. Didn’t you?”

She wasn’t sure what he was thinking as he looked at her then, but whatever it was, it brought the smile back to his lips, and that was all Zoe wanted.

“Yeah,” he said eventually. “I guess I did.”

When he kissed her again, Zoe gave into it. They both forgot they were supposed to be anywhere else as Wade lifted Zoe back up onto the bed and their clothes started to come off again.

AB would just have to understand.

* * *

“Oh, I understand how it is,” AB assured Zoe and Wade, waving away all the excuses they tried to give for their tardiness in collecting JT. “Believe me, I see exactly,” she said, grinning as she observed Zoe’s hand held tight in Wade’s own. “The little one is just fine, been no bother at all. Well, come on in and see for yourself.”

She led them into the house and through to the kitchen where JT was sat in the high chair, making a happy mess with his breakfast. The second they came in, Jake stood up from the table and made to leave.

“I gotta go. Long drive ahead o’ me.”

“I’ll see you in a few days, sweetheart,” said Annabeth, reaching out to grab him for a goodbye kiss, but he evaded and was gone.

Zoe and Wade looked at each other and seemed to decide together not to say anything about the Nass’ marriage right now.

“There’s my boy,” said Wade instead, heading towards JT and liberating him from the confines of the highchair. “Hey, you miss us, kid?”

JT hugged his neck and wiped all the food from around his mouth into Wade’s cheek.

“Now that is adorable,” said AB, even as she offered Wade the dishtowel from over her shoulder so he could clean himself up.

“The Kinsella boys are always adorable,” said Zoe definitely, getting in on the JT hugs now he was no longer covered in food. “Hey there, JT. Have you been a good boy for Aunt AB?”

“Good as gold and better,” she promised, smiling widely at the child now in Zoe’s arms. “I swear when I have a baby, I want him to be just as cute and sweet as this one.”

“Afraid you’re gonna have to make your own, Annabeth, because this one is ours.”

Zoe startled a bit at the way Wade just casually said ‘ours’ like that, but she tried not to let it show on her face. Things were so good right now, and actually, it was kind of thrilling to know Wade wanted to just include her in the family like that. From one guy’s girlfriend to the little guy’s pseudo-momma inside of an hour, it was quite a leap, but a nice one, if she were honest.

“You okay there, doc?” asked Wade, presumably having caught something in her expression that he couldn’t fathom out.

“More than okay,” she assured him. “Really, I am.”

_Two Weeks Later..._

“Good morning, happy people!” Zoe grinned as she walked through town square, waving at passers-by and greeting neighbours happily.

“Somebody’s awful chipper for a Monday morning,” said Raylene, one of the ladies on the nearby bench.

“She’s been like that for a while now,” said her friend, Eugenia. “I’m starting to think she’s taking some of those pills she hands out at the practice.”

“That ain’t it at all.” Delma rolled her eyes. “From what I heard,” she continued, lowering her voice as she leaned over to speak to the other ladies, “she and Wade Kinsella have been like a pair of rabbits these past two weeks together!”

“Well, give the woman her due,” said Eugenia, staring after Zoe, “if that ain’t a reason to be chipper, I don’t know what is!”

Zoe had no idea she was the subject of so much gossip, but honestly, even if she did know, she probably wouldn’t care. The world was a beautiful, wonderful place to her. She had the most amazing boyfriend, who himself had the cutest son in the world, she had so many friends in town, and she finally had almost half the patients of the practice registered to her, Dr Zoe Wilkes. Zoe was grinning as she passed the sign that bore her new name and headed on into work.

“Morning, Brick. Morning, Addy!” she said, waving at each of them. “Everything good? I feel good!” she declared, walking right through into her exam room.

“Lord preserve us if she is going to keep up with this sunshine attitude.” Addy rolled her eyes. “I like it well enough the rest of the time, but Monday mornings?”

“Hush now, Addy, she’s just happy,” said Brick, checking over the patient notes in his hand. “And to tell you the truth, I have to say she has plenty of reasons to be. I never saw her making a difference in this town,” he said of Zoe, who could hear him plain as day from the next room, though she suspected he didn’t realise. “I thought she would come in, mess up, take herself back to her big city life where she belongs, but now she’s taken Harley’s last name and she’s made a real decent upstanding man outta Wade Kinsella. I think I can finally see Zoe Wilkes making a life here in Bluebell.”

There was a clattering as Zoe misjudged putting her purse down on the desk and the contents spilled all over the floor. It was Addy who came in to see that she was okay and help her pick everything back up.

“Where’d that big ol’ smile go to?” she asked with concerned. “You ain’t gonna go cryin’ over spilled lipstick and cough drops, are ya?” she said, handing back those very items for Zoe to return to her purse.

“Of course not.” Zoe shook her head. “I’m fine, I just... I had kind of a shock is all. Brick being nice about me and everything,” she said, gesturing vaguely towards the door. “That was weird, right?”

“Dr Breeland does know how to give credit where credit’s due,” Addy assured her, “and honestly, I have to agree with him. You really are making a difference here and fittin’ in better than anyone mighta thought you could. Long may it continue, huh?”

Addy winked at Zoe, handing her the last fallen item from her purse and returning to her duties at reception. Zoe stood stock-still, staring after her, her brain in complete overdrive as she replayed all that she had heard in the last few minutes.

It wasn’t that Zoe wasn’t flattered or unhappy to know that Brick and Addy thought she was doing well at her job and fitting in amongst the Bluebellians. It was what she had been trying for since she first arrived last year. What had Zoe in such a spin was the idea that this was her life now, forever.

“Forever is a long time,” she said to herself, sinking down to sit on the edge of the desk.

How it hadn’t occurred to her before, Zoe hadn’t an idea. She supposed she was just so caught up in the alternating happiness and drama that had become her life since she moved to Alabama. Everything with Wade and JT, it just seemed to take over, and Zoe was loving being part of an odd family unit with the two of them, plus Earl and Lavon too. It just worked and she was happy with the whole situation, but forever? To stay for all time in Bluebell and never go back to New York? To always be a GP in a small town and never continue her career as a surgeon?

Zoe felt her breath coming in shorter and shorter bursts and forced herself to calm down before she had some kind of panic attack. Just when she had her breathing back under control, her cell phone chirped in her bag and she reached to grab it. It was Wade, and Zoe painted on a smile before she accepted the call.

“Hey,” she greeted him, with a false cheerfulness that she hoped he wouldn’t pick up on from just the one word.

“You okay there, doc?” he asked immediately.

Damn him for knowing her so well already!

“I’m fine. I’m just at work. You know, busy, busy,” she said fast. “What’s up?”

“Not much,” Wade admitted. “I was just talking to Earl. He has this notion he wants to do the whole family meal thing this Sunday. You know, him, me, JT... and you, if you wanted to come. You think that’d be okay?”

Zoe opened her mouth to answer then closed it fast, her free hand coming up to rub her forehead. She couldn’t say no, she didn’t even want to really, but was it fair to get herself even more deeply embedded in Wade’s family when she was suddenly questioning how long she might be around?

“Uh, yeah, sure,” she said fast before she made things any worse. “I’d love to come. Um, I didn’t know your dad could cook.”

“Oh, he can, when he’s sober,” Wade explained. “’Course, he’ll be kinda out of practice after so long, but he swears he knows what he’s doin’, and I’ve kinda got used to cutting him some slack lately. He seems to be doin’ real well with the whole clean-living thing.”

“He really does.” Zoe smiled to herself. “So, family meal at Earl’s place on Sunday. Something to look forward to. Sorry, Wade, but I should really be getting to my patients now.”

“Go save them lives, doc,” he said in her ear, with a smile she could just hear. “I’ll see you later, baby.”

“See you later,” she echoed back, before they both hung up.

Zoe hugged her cell to her chest and frowned hard. She meant what she said, she really should be getting to her patients now, but it was going to be hard to concentrate.

“I’m a professional,” she told herself firmly, putting the phone back into her bag and moving to put on her white coat. “Concentrate on the matter at hand. Patient care, neighbourly discussions, everything else can wait.”

“Uh, Dr Wilkes?” said Addy, tapping on the open door to get her attention. “You about done givin’ yourself a little pep talk there, ‘cause I got Colby out here, swears if you don’t do somethin’ about this rash in the next five minutes, he’s gonna cut his arm clean off just to get rid of it,” she said with a smirk.

“The overdramatics in this town, huh?” Zoe rolled her eyes and smiled back. “Send him in, please?”

The moment Addy walked away from the door, Zoe’s smile faded. Maybe she was just being overdramatic herself, making problems where none really existed. She could stay in Bluebell if she wanted to, or find a way to have the best of both worlds somehow, maybe. Other people did it, she was sure.

“Not now,” she reminded herself a second before Colby came in, waving his rash-covered arm around and complaining about other symptoms too.

Just another day at the practice!


	24. Chapter 24

“Hey, Harley,” said Zoe as she sat down on the bench in front of the grave. “It’s been a while.”

She smiled sadly as she re-read the words etched into the stone. It was oddly comforting and yet hurt so much at the same time. Zoe almost wondered why she ever came here in the first place, but the truth was, because it was all she had of her real family. It was the only place she could turn for comfort.

“It’s been a crazy few months since I first arrived in good old Bluebell,” she said, hoping rather than believing that Harely might really be listening to all she had to say. “When I first came here, I wasn’t even sure what I wanted. To be a GP just long enough to prove myself so I’d get the surgeon’s fellowship, I guess, but everything has changed so much. I’ve changed too. I would say you’d hardly recognise me, but since we never really got a chance to get to know each other in the first place...”

Zoe swallowed hard and took a breath before she could continue.

“Anyway, a lot has changed. I’m doing pretty well at the practice. Brick has softened up a little. I think he even likes having me around at this point. I don’t think it hurt anything when I switched from being Dr Hart to being Dr Wilkes. Yep, that’s right, I decided to take your name. Well, you were my real dad after all, right? The other guy didn’t seem all that interested and... and I just wanted to feel closer to you, I think.

“I blame Wade mostly. You remember Wade? I’m sure you do. He and I are... Well, he’s my boyfriend now, and get this, he has a son. John-Thomas Kinsella is a very cute, happy, eight-month-old kid. We call him JT for short, and honestly, I couldn’t love him more, even though he’s obviously not mine.”

Another sigh escaped her lips and Zoe’s eyes went heavenward. She asked herself again what she was really doing here, what she thought she was going to achieve, and yet in a moment, she was continuing on in her speech to the father she never even knew, who wasn’t even there.

“I’m happy here, you know? Happier than I ever thought I could be in a place that isn’t New York, with people that are so different to any I’ve known before. Wade makes me happy, and JT too. In the weirdest way, I seem to fit right in. I’m going to a family meal with the two of them today, and Wade’s father, Earl. I helped him with his drinking and now he’s doing so much better. Sometimes, I feel so much like I belong with them, but I’m not a Kinsella. I’m barely a Wilkes. I mean, I have the name now and I know I’m your daughter by blood, but is that really enough? Does it really mean anything?”

“I happen to think it means an awful lot.”

Zoe almost jumped out of her skin when a voice answered her question, so convinced for a split second that Harley had spoken to her from beyond the grave. That was a crazy idea, of course, and she knew it couldn’t be true. The reality of the situation was soon revealed as she turned and saw an older gentleman stood behind her. He did look a little like Harley, but obviously, it wasn’t him she was gaping at.

“I’m sorry to have startled you, honey,” he said with a kind smile. “I was just passing by, thought I’d drop in on my brother here,” he told her, gesturing to the grave she had been talking to.

“Brother?” Zoe gaped. “You’re my... Um, I mean...”

“That’s right, I’m your uncle,” he told her, nodding his head. “Vernon Wilkes,” he introduced himself, holding out a hand, “but most folks call me Brando.”

Zoe duly shook his hand and shifted over on the bench so he might join her.

“Brando?” she echoed. “As in Marlon Brando?”

“’Cause I do a real good impression,” he said proudly, in a strange voice that Zoe could only assume was supposed to be the impersonation itself - it wasn’t so good.

“Wow. That’s... great,” she said anyway, not wanting to offend him. “So, you know who I am?”

“I surely do,” her apparent Uncle Brando assured her, nodding his head. “Even if I hadn’t overheard what you was saying to Harley, word gets around. Came to my attention that I had a niece in town and that she was a real pretty young lady who had become a doctor just like her daddy. Of course, I had reservations about just bowling up to your door and introducing myself and with things being the way they were... Anyway, doesn’t matter now,” he said, waving it all away. “We meet at last. Must be fate, I guess,” he told Zoe, smiling widely as he looked her over. “You know, Harley would be so proud to have you here in town, seeing to his practice for him, and under his own name too.”

Zoe smiled too when she heard that. “That’s kind of what I was asking him,” she admitted. “It’s so weird, of all the people in my life, Harley is probably the easiest to talk to about my problems, which is a little crazy when you consider that I only met him once, I had no idea who he really was, and he’s not so much here anymore.”

“Doesn’t sound so crazy to me.” Brando shook his head. “See, family is a special kind of bond. Doesn’t matter that you never really knew your daddy when he was alive, his blood runs through your veins, sweetheart. That’s good old-fashioned Wilkes blood,” he insisted, tapping on her wrist where the veins showed some. “If you talk to Harley, I guarantee he’s listening, but if you want somebody who can actually give you some answers, well, I’m right here.”

Zoe was surprised to find that she didn’t feel at all weird about this guy she only just met offering to listen to her problems. After all, this was Bluebell, and Brando was her uncle, apparently. Unlike meeting a stranger in New York, Zoe didn’t worry that this was a scam of some kind. She knew implicitly that Brando was telling her the truth and that she could trust him with her problems if she chose to share, though maybe five minutes after meeting him would be a little soon to drop everything on the poor guy.

“I appreciate the offer,” she said eventually, “and believe me, I probably will take you up on it sometime, but right now, I’m actually headed to lunch at my boyfriend’s father’s house. Um, I don’t suppose... Well, would you like to come with me?”

“Oh, now, I wouldn’t want to intrude.” Brando shook his head.

“Please,” Zoe insisted, her hand on top of his own at his knee. “It’s not anything fancy. Do you know the Kinsellas at all?”

“Well, I surely do,” said Brando with a smile. “The youngest boy, Wade, he used to do our yard work for a while some years back. Skinny little thing, can’t have been more than fifteen, but I recall he worked like a mule for his pay.”

Zoe chuckled at the very idea of Wade being a skinny teenager, mowing lawns for a few bucks. Of course, the laughter died in the throat when she realised that was unlikely to be a summer job to make money for fun activities. Even then, Wade was probably supporting Earl, who was well into his drinking already.

“Zoe?” Brando prompted when she fell silent.

She shook her head and brought herself back to the present with a bump. “Sorry. So, yes, Wade who you remember, he’s my boyfriend. Obviously, he’s older and less skinny these days,” she explained with a smile. “His father, Earl, is cooking for us, and Wade’s son, JT, he’ll be there too. It’s a family thing, I guess, so with you being my uncle, I know you’d be welcome.”

“Well then.” Brando smiled, patting her hand. “I’m sure I’d be more’n happy to come along.”

* * *

Zoe had been kind of quiet in the last few days. Wade almost asked her a few times if something was wrong, but every time, became too afraid of the answer he might get to the question. It seemed strange, the way she had changed all of a sudden, especially after how well everything had been going up to then.

It was coming on for a month since Zoe had him over for dinner at the carriage house and they had sex for the first time. The next morning, they confirmed they were serious about what was between them and things had been pretty good for a while there. They spent a lot of time together, when they weren’t working, of course. Went on dates alone sometimes, but mostly hung out together with JT a lot. It was actually like being a family, more often than not, and so Wade hadn’t been all that nervous about asking Zoe to come to dinner on Sunday at his dad’s place. It seemed like a natural thing to do and she had said yes easy enough, but then she just got so quiet and distant. It put him on edge.

“You told Zoe what time we were eatin’, didn’t you, son?” asked Earl, appearing from the kitchen with his eyes on the clock.

“Sure, I did.” Wade nodded. “Will you quit worryin’ about it. She’ll be here,” he insisted, seemingly putting Earl’s mind at rest for at least a little while as he disappeared again. “Wish I knew for sure I was tellin’ the truth there,” he muttered to JT.

Of course, the little boy had no idea what he was being told, or that there might be any kind of problem. He was concentrating real hard on putting his feet flat on the floor, trying to stand, and Wade paid more attention when he realised that was what the kid was going for.

JT had managed to get onto his feet a few times in the past week or so, but that was all. No steps yet, just a lot of wobbling around in place before he dropped back to his knees and got to crawling around.

“Hey, there’s my boy,” said Wade with a grin as JT got up to his full height, fingers gripping the edge of the table with all the power they possessed. “Come on now, you can do this, bubba.”

JT looked happy enough to be up, but a little uncertain about the whole moving forward thing. Wade tried to be encouraging, holding out his hands to catch the kid if he did dare to leave go of the table and try to walk. Still, JT wasn’t sure, it was written all over his face.

“You think maybe this time?” asked Earl coming back through from the kitchen and seeing what was happening.

JT looked around too fast at the sound of Grandpa’s voice and landed unceremoniously on his rear.

“Nope,” said Wade with a sigh. “Not this time. Don’t worry about it, kid,” he said then, pulling JT into his lap for a hug. “You’ll get there some time. No hurry,” he promised, dropping a kiss on the top of his head.

A knock on the door got all the attention then and Earl moved to answer it.

“Hey there, pretty doctor,” he said, smiling at his guest.

“Hey, Earl. Thank you so much for inviting me,” said Zoe, stepping inside. “Um, I hope you don’t mind, I kind of brought somebody along. I mean, since it’s a family thing and... well, he’s family,” she explained.

Wade scrambled up from the floor, putting JT on his hip as he came to see what was going on. The little boy immediately reached for Zoe and was duly handed over without a moment’s pause.

“Hey, sweetie,” she greeted him with a big hug and a kiss. “Now, this is my Uncle Brando. Uncle Brando, meet JT Kinsella,” she introduced them.

“Well, hello there, young fella,” said Brando, taking JT’s little hand between his thumb and forefinger to ‘shake’. “But this can’t be his daddy,” he said then, wide eyed as he looked at Wade. “Well, Wade Kinsella, I would hardly recognise you. You remember when you used to do my yard work for me?”

“Yes, sir,” Wade admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “That was quite a while back. Uh, this is my dad, Earl,” he said then, remembering his manners.

“I believe our paths have crossed here and there.” Brando smiled, reaching to shake Earl’s hand too. “You know, Zoe just about insisted on me coming along with her, but if I’m intruding at all...”

“No bother to me.” Earl shook his head. “Like she said, it’s a family meal. If you’re her family, you’re welcome enough.”

“Good thing I borrowed extra silverware from Lavon’s place,” said Wade then, hurrying to fetch it and set another place at the table.

Zoe smiled as she watched him and Earl run around with all the last-minute prep. JT babbled at her and she bounced him in her arms.

“Are you gonna say Zoe?” she asked him. “Zo-e,” she over-enunciated, but JT only laughed.

“I guess he don’t say much yet,” said Brando, watching the child with a smile.

“Not really. Wade swears he says Dada sometimes, but I’ve never heard him. Mostly he’s still in the random sounds stage, but I’ll bet the words are on their way.”

“Shoulda seen him standing right before you got here, doc,” said Wade as he returned to the scene. “I thought maybe this time there was gonna be a step or two, but not yet.”

“Aww, you’ll get there, won’t you, buddy?” she said to JT, kissing his temple. “You are gonna be the best walker and talker there ever was, but it’s early days yet. You have plenty of time.”

“Wade came late to talking,” Earl explained as he came back into the room and caught the tail end of what was being said, “but darn it, he was running around like a racoon with his tail on fire long before he was a year old.”

“Yeah, well, before you go gettin’ too nostalgic, how’s that food comin’ along?” asked Wade, just a little embarrassed about baby stories coming out in front of Zoe and her uncle.

“Anybody would think you don’t want me to know what you were like as a kid, Wade,” said Zoe herself, grinning wide. “I’ll bet Daddy was a hell-raiser, huh, JT?”

“Yeah, ‘cause Aunt Zoe was probably such a sweet, shy, quiet little thing,” Wade countered with a look.

“If she was anything at all like Harley, she could hold her own,” said Brando thoughtfully. “Now your daddy and me, we was rambunctious enough when we were coming up together. Yes, sir, we got in our fair share of scrapes, but then I guess that’s brothers for you.”

“Nothin’ you can tell me about that I don’t already know.” Earl rolled his eyes. “Wade and Jesse were just the same.”

Wade winced at the mention of his older brother and could tell by the sympathetic look on Zoe’s face that she noticed too.

“So, when exactly are we eating?” she asked quickly, an excellent subject change, Wade thought. “It smells so good and I’m starving.”

“Coming right up, pretty doctor,” Earl told her with a smile, returning to the kitchen, with Brando following behind, asking if he could help at all.

“Thank you for that,” Wade told Zoe, pulling her close with an arm around her shoulders.

“No problem,” she said, kissing his lips. “You are okay with me bringing Brando along, right? It’s just I was visiting with Harley, you know, at the cemetery, and he just showed up. We got to talking and he seems like such a nice guy. I know I should’ve called and asked before I just showed up with him, but-”

Wade’s hand on her cheek pulled her ever closer then and he planted another good long kiss on her lips, while JT, narrowly avoided being caught in the crush, clapped his hands and giggled.

“Seemed like you were startin’ to freak out, doc,” said Wade as he and Zoe parted.

“Maybe a little,” she admitted.

“Your uncle is welcome enough, so don’t stress about it. Funny thing is, I actually do remember mowing his lawn and such back in the day. He paid pretty well too, as I recall. Nice guy.”

“Yeah, he seems to be,” Zoe agreed, smiling all the wider when she realised Brando and Earl were laughing together in the kitchen. “Apparently, he and your dad get along.”

“Can’t be a bad thing,” Wade considered. “Old Earl could use some friends of the sober variety these days.”

The two men in question appeared then, Earl carrying a beautifully roasted chicken with Brando behind him, proffering a dish of potatoes and another with other vegetables. Wade dashed into the kitchen to grab what was left to be brought through while Zoe got JT into his high chair. Then at last, everybody sat down to eat the delicious meal.

There was a limited amount of talking, but that was okay. The company was no problem, it was just that everybody was enjoying the food so much. Most of what was said was just compliments about the meal or giving attention to JT who kept all present thoroughly entertained, as ever.

“Now, I didn’t make dessert,” Earl admitted when the main part of the meal was over. “I’m not much for baking, but I did pick up a pie from the Butter Stick if anybody is interested.”

Positive responses came from all present and Earl got up to go fetch the pie, just as someone knocked on the door.

“I got it, Dad,” Wade assured him, leaving Zoe to keep her eye on JT for a while.

When he opened the door, it was plain as day to Wade who was there, even though the guy had his head turned away for the moment.

“You have got to be kidding me,” he said as the other man turned to look at him. “What in the hell are you doin’ here, Jesse?”


	25. Chapter 25

“Hey, Wade. It’s been a while.”

Zoe couldn’t see the mysterious Jesse yet, the open door was blocking her view, but just hearing his cheery nonchalance made her wince. Wade was not a fan of his older brother and he had told her a few of the reasons why, though never in much detail. It made him so mad to even think about Jesse most of the time that Zoe never pushed Wade on the topic, assuming it was unlikely she would ever need to know anyway. Apparently, she was wrong.

JT suddenly got her attention, making noise and reaching to grab at her arm.

“Sorry, little man,” she said, moving to get him out of the high chair which he seemed very eager to escape.

She missed how exactly Jesse got over the threshold, something Zoe was sure Wade wouldn’t have been eager to allow. Most likely Earl had ushered his eldest into his home.

“Well, I heard the rumours in town, but I wasn’t sure I believed it,” he said, shaking his head as his eyes landed on Zoe and JT. “Never thought I’d see the day when you succumbed, Wade, became a real family man. I’m Jesse,” he told Zoe then.

“I know who you are,” she said, nodding once, giving nothing further away.

This whole situation with the Kinsellas was none of her business, she knew that, but this guy made Wade mad and for that he was getting as cool an attitude as she felt like giving him, Zoe was determined on that.

“So, this is my nephew, huh?” he said, reaching out to JT.

The kid must’ve got some kind of negative vibe because he turned his head away and clung onto Zoe like a koala. She was happy enough to hug him, kissing his head and promising everything was okay.

“He ain’t your nephew, he’s _my_ son,” said Wade definitely.

“You do know that’s the same thing, right?” his brother checked.

Zoe backed up a step, seeing the two get toe to toe and having an awful feeling she knew how this whole thing was going to play out. Uncle Brando must’ve seen it too because he got up from his seat and moved towards the door.

“I think I’ll take myself off home,” he said to Earl as he went. “Wonderful meal. Thank you so much for your hospitality.”

“Bye, Uncle Brando!” Zoe called to him and got a quick wave in response, but then he was gone.

To her mind, his slipping away so quick was another thing she could blame Jesse Kinsella for. Things had been going so well until he showed up and now it was all ruined.

“Come on now, boys” said Earl, coming in-between Wade and Jesse. “Don’t want no trouble here.”

“Who said there was gonna be trouble?” asked Jesse, shrugging his shoulders. “I got no problems. How about you, Wade?”

Zoe was almost certain she was about to see Wade literally explode. She wouldn’t have wanted to see him upset at any time, but especially with JT there, picking up on the general bad feeling in the room and becoming restless in her arms.

“Wade,” she said twice, before he finally took angry eyes off Jesse and looked at her instead. “We should get JT out of here. He’s getting frustrated and I’m pretty sure he needs changing too.”

Zoe was well aware it wasn’t her place to split up the Kinsella boys so they didn’t come to blows but she couldn’t help herself. She just wanted to diffuse this situation as fast as possible. If nothing else, Earl looked grateful for her efforts, even if he was also kind of disappointed to split up the family occasion.

“Yeah,” said Wade after a while. “We’ll get goin’,” he agreed, moving to get JT’s bag and picking up Zoe’s purse for her too, since she was still holding on tight to his son. “Thanks for lunch, Earl,” he said to his father.

“You’re more’n welcome, son. Bye, pretty doctor, and thank you,” he said, seeing them out of the door.

Zoe felt like she could breathe more easily once she was outside of Earl’s house, though looking over at Wade, leaned against the car and seemingly trying to find his inner calm, made her apprehensive. Handling her own emotions about her own family never really came easy to Zoe. Handling someone else’s may yet prove even harder, but she had to try.

“Hey,” she said, reaching his side.

“I’m sorry, Zoe,” said Wade immediately turning to look at her. “I can’t... I just can’t deal with him right now, breezin’ on in here like he owns the place. The prodigal son returns, all high and mighty and... I just can’t be around him, I can’t.”

“Then we’ll go,” Zoe insisted. “I actually wasn’t kidding about JT probably needing a change,” she said, wincing a little as she shifted the little boy in her arms.

Wade actually cracked a smile at that. “Is Aunt Zoe tryin’ to find a polite way to tell me you stink, bubba?” he asked, lifting JT from her arms into his own. “Nah, I think she’s just tryin’ to put my mind on anythin’ that ain’t how mad I am at my brother right now.”

“Maybe a little of both.” Zoe shrugged, smiling at him. “I wish I could make it better, Wade, I honestly do.”

Wade sighed. “You’re here, doc, that makes it better,” he promised her.

She had a feeling he might’ve kissed her then, if not for JT suddenly flinging out his arms and hitting Daddy right in the eye.

“Yep, that is exactly what I needed,” he told JT, laughing because he couldn’t help it when his son did the same. “Let’s get you in this car and get gone, before I change my mind about not doing somethin’ similar to _Uncle_ Jesse,” he said with a tone that told Zoe the worst of this might not be over just because they were leaving Earl’s place.

They drove home in silence, her not knowing what to say, and him probably too caught up in his own anger to speak. Outside the gate house, Wade went straight to the back seat to get JT out of the car and Zoe grabbed the baby bag, following them into the house. She waited on the couch while Wade got JT changed and then set him down for a nap. When he finally came to join her, she reached for his hand and held on tight.

“I know you hate to talk about your brother,” she said carefully. “From what you’ve told me so far, I can kind of see why you don’t like him. The whole running out on you and your dad, leaving you to deal when Earl was having his problems.”

“That ain’t the half of it.” Wade shook his head. “I’m sorry, Zoe, but there’s a whole lot you don’t know.”

“Then tell me” she urged him. “Please, Wade, I know he makes you so mad, which means he’s obviously done a lot to hurt you. Trust me, knowing that is enough to make me want to take his head off just as badly as you’d like to,” she assured him, earning herself a smile from Wade, even though she hadn’t been trying for it. “Still, it’d be nice to understand what happened. You’ve been there for me so much with my family stuff, I just want the chance to return to the favour.”

He looked like he wanted to argue, probably because dragging up all those painful memories couldn’t ever be fun for him, but in the end, Wade relented.

“Fine,” he said, getting up from the couch, “but if I gotta tell the whole story, I’m gonna need a beer.”

* * *

“Hey, Miss Zoe.” Lavon smiled as she came in through the back door on Monday morning. “And how’s the little man this morning?” he asked JT who gave him a big yawn in response.

“We’re both okay,” said Zoe, somewhat flatly. “Better than his daddy, that’s for sure,” she explained, handing JT to Lavon for a hug. “I left Wade sleeping off a couple of beers and a lot of family drama.”

“Family drama?” Lavon echoed, bouncing JT in his arms even as he frowned at Zoe. “So, the whole Sunday lunch thing didn’t go so well?”

“It was going well, really well, actually... until Wade’s brother showed up.”

“Jesse Kinsella is back in town?”

“The one and only.” Zoe rolled her eyes, pouring herself a coffee only to abandon it to go to the fridge to get JT some breakfast. “Wade was so mad about him even being here, and since he told me the way things have been with them, I absolutely understand.”

“Yeah, there’s some bad blood between those boys.” Lavon sighed, moving to put JT into his highchair, now Zoe had it set up. “They didn’t come to blows, right?”

“No, but it was a close-run thing,” Zoe admitted, putting on a smile for JT’s benefit, though it was as fake as any Lavon had ever seen her wear. “I hope he doesn’t hang around too long.”

“Usually a flyin’ visit is all you get with Jesse these days,” Lavon considered. “Last time has to have been, what? Two years ago, maybe more.”

“It was.” Zoe nodded, most of her attention on JT as she helped him with his breakfast. “According to Wade, it was Earl’s birthday, or close enough anyway. Jesse bought him a car, which sounds great, so generous.”

“Until you recall that, at that time, Earl was the town drunk.” Lavon sighed. “I remember the fall-out, and it was none too pretty.”

“So I’m told.” Zoe sighed just the same. “Anyway, before this all gets really depressing, how are things with you, Lavon? Are you getting anywhere with Lemon?”

“Some progress may have been made,” he said, smiling just a little. “She’s somewhat apprehensive given how things are around town. While the world embraces guys who suddenly become upstanding fathers and town legacy doctor types, they frown upon those of us who had affairs and broke up the engagement of Bluebell’s golden couple.”

“Oh, come on, you know there are lots of people around here who still love you,” said Zoe definitely. “You’re two for two in this room alone,” she promised.

“And you two are the sweetest of all people,” he said with a grin. “It ain’t just that. Lemon cares about her reputation, that is true, but she also cares a lot about George Tucker still. You know, it has been comin’ on a month now since they called it a day, which by the way was not directly because o’ me. George sees me in town, he still crosses the street.”

Zoe sighed and put a hand on Lavon’s shoulder when he leaned on the counter by her looking so very sad.

“He will come around,” she said with a half-smile. “Come on, Lavon, who can stay mad at you? I just think that George has had a lot going on lately, first with Lemon, then with his dad and everything. Give him some time, I’m sure he’ll get over it.”

Lavon nodded in either understanding or agreement, Zoe wasn’t really sure which, then said he was going to go check the mail box and start on a long list of calls he needed to make. Zoe turned back to JT with a sad expression that brightened the moment he looked at her.

“You’re a really good cure for the blues, baby boy,” she promised him, wiping apple sauce from his chin. “I’m not sure how life would be right now if you hadn’t showed up. I probably wouldn’t be with Wade, and he probably would have knocked out his brother yesterday. Earl might not be sober yet and I... well, I might still have the crazy idea in my head that I was in love with George Tucker!”

“Now that was a crazy notion, doc.”

Zoe turned around fast at the sound of Wade’s voice.

“How long have you been standing there?” she asked with a look.

“Long enough,” he told her with that smirk that was as sexy as it was annoying. “What’s given you a case of the ‘what mighta beens’ anyway?” he asked, wandering over and kissing her hello.

“I don’t know,” Zoe told him, looking away as she considered what she was saying, “or maybe I do. Wade...”

Just when she was about to tell him what was on her mind, Lavon came hurrying back to the kitchen, waving an envelope in his hand.

“Think you better wake up Wade, Zoe,” he said urgently, before looking up and seeing his friend was already there.

“Where’s the fire, Lavon?” asked Wade, frowning at the almost panicked look on his buddy’s face.

“Less a fire, maybe more like a hurricane,” he said, handing over the letter he had come in carrying. “They give them people’s names, right?”

“Carrie-Sue,” Wade gasped as he realised the envelope had her name signed on it as the sender.

Zoe swallowed hard as she watched Wade tear into his mail. She was unsure exactly why there was a panicked feeling in her chest, though she would hazard a guess it was all concern about what she might be about to lose, one way or another.

“What does it say?” she asked worriedly, before he had hardly started reading. “Wade, what does it say?” she repeated when the response wasn’t immediate.

“Says she’s sorry,” he told her eventually. “Life took a turn she wasn’t expectin’, but she figured leavin’ John-Thomas here with me was just about the best she could do for him. More apologisin’ and then... then goodbye,” he said, looking up at Zoe with a very puzzled expression that she couldn’t understand at all.

“Oh. Well, that makes sense, I guess. She’s feeling guilty about abandoning her baby, that’s normal enough.”

“Yeah, I guess it is,” Wade agreed, “but that part don’t seem so important as the goodbye part.”

“You want her to come back here?” asked Lavon, now equally confused as everybody else.

“Like hell I do.” Wade rolled her eyes. “I mean, sure, I get that a kid should have both their parents if they can and all, but she did wrong by JT and if you ask me, he’s better off without her. He has family enough around here without a mother who’d leave him on a doorstep. It’s just...”

“It’s just, what?” Zoe prompted when he trailed off.

“It’s just weird is all,” Wade told her. “Why now? Why send me some stupid letter? Why not call me up or whatever? I don’t know what it is but she made goodbye sound like... like somethin’ permanent.”

Zoe shook her head. “Wade, are you saying you think Carrie-Sue...? That she sent this before she... did something stupid?” she said as carefully as she could, happy to note that she had developed some kind of tact in the last few months, on top of that bedside manner everyone seemed to think was so important.

Wade looked way too serious for a few moments and then suddenly shook his head.

“Nah, that’d be crazy,” he said, tossing the letter onto the counter. “Carrie-Sue wasn’t the type anyhow.”

Turning on a dime, which Zoe knew he more than had the ability to do, Wade turned to JT and started to make a fuss of him, Carrie-Sue’s letter abandoned and forgotten in a moment. Zoe couldn’t stop staring at it, though she didn’t say what was on her mind. There really wasn’t a type when it came to people who took their own life. Not that anyone necessarily had. Zoe didn’t know Carrie-Sue, not at all. Wade had said she wanted to be an actress, maybe she just had a flair for the dramatic, but her letter had shaken him and that didn’t happen easily. Still, he was right about JT probably being better off without a mother who would abandon him the way Carrie-Sue had. Even if she were desperate, there had to be a better way than leaving a five-month-old unattended where she knew an alligator lived!

“You okay there, Z?” asked Lavon, startling her from her thoughts.

“Sure, yeah. I’m fine,” she promised, finding a smile.

He seemed convinced, heading back to his office without further question or comment.

“Um, I guess I should go get ready for work,” said Zoe absently, heading for the door.

“Hey, doc?” Wade called behind her and she turned back to look at him. “Thank you for last night, you know, listenin’ to me go on and all.”

Zoe slowly smiled and then very deliberately walked back over to Wade. Without a word, she took his face in her hands and pulled him down so she could plant a firm kiss on his lips. When she eventually pulled back, she stayed close, eyes locked onto his own as she spoke.

“I love you, Wade Kinsella. I don’t know how it happened, but it did. I just love you.”

Maybe Zoe should’ve been worried that Wade wasn’t answering her, wasn’t saying the same words back to her, but she wasn’t. She had surprised him. Truthfully, she had surprised herself, but what she said was true enough and she wasn’t about to take it back.

JT slamming his hands on the tray of the highchair broke the moment, Zoe and Wade both turning to look at him then.

“Yes, JT, I love you too,” Zoe promised him, giggling because she just couldn’t help it.

He grinned at her and blew a raspberry too, which was as close as she was going to get to reciprocation from an eight-month-old. Of course, Zoe was still waiting on some kind of response from Wade.

“You are an amazin’ woman, Zoe Wilkes,” he said then, getting her attention back in a heartbeat. “And I would be a bigger fool than anybody ever thought I was if I didn’t love you too. Like you said, I have no idea how it happened. I didn’t even know I could feel this way about anybody, but I do. I’m pretty sure I shoulda told you a while back, but...”

“Doesn’t matter,” Zoe assured him, blinking too much as happy tears filled her eyes.

Through it all she was smiling and Wade was smiling back and then they were kissing again, because it didn’t make sense to do anything else.

“You really gotta go to work?” he asked as they parted.

“Really do,” she said regretfully, “and you have to take care of JT and then go to work yourself,” she reminded him, taking a step back out of his grasp before she changed her mind. “We’ll pick this up some other time, I promise.”

“I’ll hold you to it.” Wade nodded as she backed up towards the door.

“You better,” she replied, grinning as she finally left, finding herself entirely unable to stop.


	26. Chapter 26

There was a spring in Zoe Wilkes’ step as she walked to work. It wasn’t the first Monday she had gone waltzing across town square with a really good feeling running through her, but today was even better than before. She just told her boyfriend that she loved him, which might not seem like a huge deal, but this was the first time Zoe had ever said something like that to a guy and really meant it. It hadn’t even been planned, wasn’t a romantic moment, nothing like that at all. She just looked at Wade and he looked back at her and something struck her like lightning. She loved him, and apparently, he loved her too. It was in no way a bad feeling.

Just as she was about to cross the street to the practice, someone called her name. In an instant, Zoe lost that smile she had been holding onto since she first left the plantation this morning as Jesse came jogging over to her.

“Did you want something?” she asked, looking up at him expectantly, squinting a little against the sun that was already bright in the sky.

“Just thought I’d say hi,” said Jesse, all charm and smiles that had no effect on Zoe, “since we really didn’t get much of a chance to talk yesterday.”

“I’m not sure we have anything to say to each other, Mr Kinsella,” she said with faux-politeness, moving to go around him, but he got straight back into her path.

“Mr Kinsella?” he echoed. “You can’t just call me Jesse?”

“That’d be pretty familiar,” Zoe noted, “and I don’t think I want to be all that close to you,” she said pointedly, taking another step away and managing to get around him this time.

“Well,” said Jesse, scratching the back of his head, “I consider myself put in my place, Miss...”

“ _Dr._ Wilkes” said Zoe, forced to stay on the sidewalk next to him as a car drove by and kept her from crossing over.

“Dr. Wilkes?” Jesse echoed, frowning by now. “We used to have one of those around here. You’re...?”

“Harley’s daughter, yes, not that it’s any of your business. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

Before any more could be said, Zoe took her chance to dash across the street. Unfortunately, Jesse followed her. She ought to have learnt by now how persistent a Kinsella man could be.

“You really don’t like me, in spite of the fact that you don’t know me,” he said, once again standing right where she needed to walk. “Wade really musta been tellin’ tales outta school.”

“What Wade has told me is neither here nor there,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest and fixing him with an angry glare. “What matters is that you have hurt him, repeatedly, and that’s not okay with me. You see, Jesse Kinsella, I happen to care a lot about your brother.”

He looked set to laugh at that which only made Zoe more mad. “Aww, is it true love?”

“Do you know, what? Maybe it is, and the weird thing is, I only realised that today. In fact, I want to shake your hand,” she said suddenly unfolding her arms and grabbing his hand, pumping it hard. “Thank you, Jesse Kinsella,” said Zoe with a big fake smile, his hand still held tight in her own. “Thank you for making me realise just how much I love the rest of your family. I could never feel this angry with you if I didn’t love Wade, JT, and Earl so much,” she said, suddenly dropping his hand like she was disgusted she ever had a hold of it in the first place. “See, the rest of the Kinsella family, they’ve become _my_ family,” she explained. “Just last week, I was struggling with some stuff, like whether or not I should stay here in Bluebell permanently or whether I should just go back to New York when my year was up. You made me see that this is exactly where I belong,” she said definitely. “I could never abandon Wade the way you did. I would never want to.”

With that, she swept by Jesse and up the steps into the practice, slamming the door behind her.

* * *

Wade could not get the grin off his face no matter how hard he tried. Sure, that letter from Carrie-Sue had been kind of weird, and it didn’t thrill him any that Jesse could come wandering into the Rammer Jammer at any second, but all of that paled into insignificance when he recalled what happened this morning. Right there in Lavon’s kitchen, when Zoe had laid one on him and then told him she loved him. Wade never knew he wanted that, never entirely admitted to himself that he felt much the same way about her, not until that moment. Now it was all he could think about and it made him just about as happy as a man could be. He had Zoe and JT, and a sober father to boot. All in all, Wade Kinsella had it pretty good right about now.

“Shame not everybody is feelin’ quite so sunny,” he muttered to himself, watching a sad and lonely figure trudge into the bar and sit down on a stool with a thud. “George Tucker,” he greeted him with a smile anyway. “You look like you lost a dollar and found a dime.”

“You ever have those days when you wonder why you bothered gettin’ outta bed at all?” said George, heaving a sigh.

“Only when I left my beautiful girlfriend in the bed I just got out of,” said Wade considering it.

George laughed at that, as if maybe it was a joke. As far as Wade was concerned, he ought to have known he was entirely serious in what he said.

“Still not used to you using the word ‘girlfriend’ like that and meaning it,” said George, shaking his head. “It’s nice though. You know I’m real happy for you and Zoe, right?”

“I appreciate that, Tucker,” Wade assured him, getting him a beer. “You know, there was a time when I thought... Well, that you and me was gonna come to blows over the good doctor.”

“Yeah, I gotta admit, I had some thoughts in that direction myself,” George said honestly, taking a drag from the bottle of beer, “but Zoe was never... I mean, she’s great, don’t get me wrong. She’s smart and she’s beautiful, great sense of honour, and she’s a real good friend.”

“Don’t go gettin’ carried away there, Tucker,” said Wade with a warning look that wasn’t quite so faked and humorous as it might be.

“I was gonna say that in spite of all Zoe’s glowing attributes,” said George then, hands up in mock surrender, “I never had any real feelings for her,” he admitted. “She just reminds me a lot of New York is all, and with things the way they were with me and Lemon... I don’t know, I guess, if anything, she woulda been an easy out. I’m glad I didn’t get the chance to use her that way and mess up everythin’. You and Zoe, that just works.”

“Not gonna argue with that.” Wade shook his head, leaning on the bar to continue talking to his buddy. “’Course, almost got myself into a scuffle yesterday when I saw who was back in town. You seen Jesse around today?”

“Jesse? No, I haven’t,” George assured him. “He been makin’ trouble?”

“Not as such, but his bein’ here puts my back up just waitin’ on it.” Wade sighed. “I guess now he knows he’s not welcome, he’ll disappear quick as he showed up. Usually does anyway.”

“Did he, uh, meet JT?” asked George carefully, clearly mindful of Wade getting mad about it, as he should be. “I mean, he is the kid’s uncle.”

“My son has uncles a-plenty in this town,” said Wade definitely. “Between you and Lavon, he ain’t lackin’ anythin’ that Jesse would teach him, that’s for sure.”

Wade had been concentrating on wiping down the bar, he missed the goofy smile George was wearing at first. When he saw it, he made a face, wondering what it was all about, though his friend told him before he ever got the chance to ask.

“You think of me as JT’s uncle?”

“All we’ve been through down the years, Tucker?” Wade rolled his eyes. “’Course if I knew you were gonna be such a girl about it... Speakin’ of that kinda behaviour, when are you and the mayor gonna kiss and make up already?”

The smile went off George’s face in an instant and he gave all his attention to downing much of his beer in one go. Wade rolled his eyes once again and leaned back down to his friend’s level.

“Look, Tucker, life is too short for this crap. Take it from somebody who knows,” he said definitely. “Now, you and Lavon, you been friends a good long while.”

“Until I found out he was havin’ an affair with my fiancée!” George hissed, eyes darting around to make sure no-one was listening in - as if they didn’t all know already!

“And where was you when this grand affair was goin’ on?” asked Wade with a look. “’Cause I do recall you had taken yourself off to New York, without that precious fiancée of yours. Now, before you try tellin’ me that is no excuse for Lemon and Lavon doin’ what they did, I wouldn’t ever say it was,” said Wade fast, “but you think on this, George Tucker, if you and Lemon were so in love and everything, why’d you leave her that way, and why’d she let you go so easy?”

George was frowning hard by the time Wade stood up and went to go serve the next customer at the bar. He’d let Tucker puzzle a while over what he had said then stand him another beer and hope that before the hour was through, he could convince his buddy to go make things right with Lavon. It’d make Lemon feel better to know they could at least pass each other in the street without coming to blows, and Wade was in the mood for making everybody else just as happy as he felt right now. Not that he was really convinced anybody else could be that happy, but then nobody else had his girlfriend or his son to go home to at day’s end. Wade Kinsella was well-aware of just how lucky he was.

* * *

“So, if you trust the word of Shula Whitaker, and I do,” said Zoe seriously, “Jesse is long gone. He was seen walking through town square with his bag on his shoulder around two o’clock and nobody has seen him since.”

“Good riddance is what I say to that,” Wade told her, pulling the car up outside of the gate house. “Like I told George Tucker just this afternoon, I got no time for that no-good brother of mine. And you sure as heck don’t need an uncle like that in your life, huh, buddy?” he called to JT in the backseat.

He got a happy babble in response and that was enough for Wade apparently. Zoe was just pleased to see them both smiling and laughing. It made her heart swell with a good, warm feeling that she wasn’t sorry to have.

It lasted well into the evening as the three of them all hung out together. At one point, JT did his standing routine again and this time it really seemed like he might take a step, but it never quite happened. Zoe was quick to reassure him that he was fine even though he had fallen on his butt again. He was tired by then and getting teary, so she gave him the biggest hug and offered to put him to bed.

Wade took her up on that and worked on cleaning up the place a little since it kind of looked like something had exploded right across the gatehouse. He was a great father, but he really wasn’t the best at keeping on top of housework.

“So, I should go,” said Zoe when JT was settled.

“You sure on that?” Wade checked, following her to the door. “’Cause I do recall talk of picking up something we started this morning...”

Zoe smiled, not trying to fight at all when his hands went to her waist and pulled her close. Her arms went up around Wade’s neck and she gave him a quick kiss.

“I know what we said and I would love to stay, but I have an early start tomorrow and honestly, I’m just so tired,” she admitted. “I promise to make it up to you another night.”

“Yeah? Well then, that gives me somethin’ to look forward to, doesn’t it?” said Wade with a smirk, leaning in to kiss her goodnight.

It was almost enough to convince Zoe she wanted to stay after all, but she had to be stronger. Dragging herself away, she turned towards the door and prised it open, only for Wade’s hand to land above her head, pushing it closed again. She glanced over her shoulder at him, trying to be mad but failing miserably when his arm snaked around her waist, pulling her to him again. His lips on her neck made her knees weak.

“You’re such a bad influence,” she said softly.

“Yeah, but I heard you love me anyway,” he whispered in her ear.

Zoe giggled at that, turned in his arms, and then felt very serious as their eyes met.

“Wade...”

“What?” he asked, looking just a little worried, which was far from what Zoe intended.

“You know I’m not going anywhere, right? I mean, when I came here, it was just supposed to be for a year, and even when we started... whatever it was we started, I still thought I’d probably... Well, it was kind of undefined for a while there, uncertain, you know? What I’m trying to say is that I’m certain now. I’m sure that this is where I want to be, with you and JT, in Bluebell.”

“Gotta admit,” said Wade, letting his forehead press against her own, “crossed my mind a time or two that we was on borrowed time here. That someday you were gonna get the notion to take yourself back where you came from and... well, I just tried not to think about it too much.”

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately,” Zoe admitted. “I wasn’t sure if I could just be here forever, even though it started to seem like a nice idea. After everything the last couple of days, I just... I know now. Somehow, I just know that even if they called me up tomorrow and offered me that fellowship I wanted so badly before, I couldn’t go. I have to stay here, Wade. It’s the only thing that makes sense to me anymore.”

The smile that came over his face at the sound of those words was enough to light up the room.

“And after all o’ what you just said, I’m supposed to just let you go on home tonight?” he asked her, lips so close to her own she felt the words as much as she heard them.

“I guess it wouldn’t be so bad if I stayed,” she said with a smile, right before Wade kissed her, lifted her up into his arms, and carried her to his bed where they both knew she belonged.


	27. Chapter 27

“Brick, I promise you, you’re going to be great,” said Zoe with perhaps a little more confidence and enthusiasm than she really felt.

Quite honestly, if she had to hear him fight his way through ‘Modern Major-General’ even one more time, there was a chance she was going to scream, but she was so determined to be supportive. They really had become something akin to friends lately and it was a nice feeling, especially since Zoe had decided she definitely wanted to stay in Bluebell longer than originally planned. It had come as a surprise to her when Brick seemed genuinely pleased to hear her decision. The last thing she would want to do is jeopardise their new-found working relationship. Hence the encouraging him in his performance for Dash’s ‘Gilbert and South-ivan’ event.

“There are just so many words,” Brick complained, rubbing his forehead.

“Did you try listening to it over and over and trying to sing along instead of just repeating it off the page? Sometimes that works better,” she suggested.

Brick snapped his fingers and smiled. “That’s not a bad idea. Now, I wonder if they have a copy of _Pirates of Penzance_ at the record store...”

“Uh, Brick?” Addy called behind him. “You do know you have patients in... twenty minutes?” the last part came out disjointed as she clearly realised he was already out the door and not hearing her anyway.

“It’s fine, Addy, I’ll see everybody,” Zoe insisted. “We may have to move some things around, but I’ll get it covered.”

“At least somebody in this place has their mind on their job.” Addy rolled her eyes.

Zoe was smiling as she stepped into her office, though the look faded when she was out of sight of her colleague. She was concentrating on her work today, for the most part anyway, but it was tough to keep her mind from wandering every time she put her hand in her pocket and felt the folded envelope lying there.

Carrie-Sue’s letter from a few days before shouldn’t matter much to Zoe. It was Wade’s business, after all, not the responsibility of his new girlfriend to deal with. Still, when she found it on the table at the gatehouse this morning and casually asked what he wanted to do with it, Wade had shrugged and said she could throw it in the trash if she wanted, even burn it for all he cared.

Zoe could understand his attitude, given the way Carrie-Sue had just upped and abandoned JT like she did. At the same time, the whole letter thing just made her curious. She wondered more and more why Carrie-Sue sent it, what she really meant when she said goodbye. She asked Wade if maybe they should keep the letter, if only so they had something from her for JT in the future. It might make it easier to explain when he was older, about where Carrie-Sue was and what happened, or so Zoe thought.

“Do whatever you think is best, doc,” Wade had told her. “File it away if it makes you feel better, just so long as I don’t have to look at it.”

That was when Zoe had shoved the letter in the pocket and there it had stayed, feeling as if it were burning a hole somehow. In a quiet moment between patients earlier, she had pulled it out and looked it over again. The postmarks weren’t American but rather European. No return address, but Zoe studied the stamps and markings and deduced it had originally come from France.

“That’s a long way to run away from your responsibilities,” she muttered to herself, shoving the letter back in her pocket as Addy stuck her head in and told her that her next patient was ready.

Time flew by, one illness and injury after another, until finally Zoe got a chance for a lunchbreak.

“You have a window of about an hour if you want to cut out for a while,” Addy told her.

“It’s fine.” Zoe waved away her concerns. “You go if you want, I’ll man the phones.”

Addy didn’t need telling twice and was soon hurrying out of the door, calling Bill on the way to see if he could meet her. Zoe looked around the empty waiting area then returned to her desk, pulling out Carrie-Sue’s letter again on the way. There was something about it that just kept taking her attention.

Wade was right about the way she said goodbye. It seemed so permanent, which didn’t necessarily mean she planned to end her life. It could just as easily be a plan never to come back to the States, never thinking to make contact with Wade or John-Thomas again. That made no sense to Zoe either. To leave an ex was one thing, but to leave a child? There had to be a bigger reason than an opportunity for an acting career, surely. As dedicated as Zoe had always been to her own career as a doctor, she could never imagine choosing it over a baby. Of course, everybody was different. Maybe Zoe just wanted to believe that JT’s mother had a better reason than that for leaving him behind.

Glancing from the letter to her cell as she thought for a moment, then picked up the phone and speed-dialled. Zoe bit her lip as the line rang once, twice, three times. She almost changed her mind and hung up before she got an answer, but didn’t quite get the chance.

“Hey, Mom,” she said when Candice finally took her call. “Listen, I need your help with something. Do you still have the number for that really good PI you used to know?”

* * *

“According to Lavon, after several weeks of the cold shoulder, George Tucker has finally allowed his ice to thaw,” said Lemon, smiling widely. “When they ran into each other at the Butter Stick around lunch time, there was a reasonable conversation, in which George told Lavon he no longer saw the point in holding a grudge, and there was a hand-shake that was so monumentally significant, a picture was taken and displayed proudly on Dash’s blog,” she explained, turning her cell phone around so Wade could see the picture in question.

“Well, how about that?” said her friend with a smile. “’Bout time those two got things figured out.”

“I agree.” Lemon nodded. “Of course, I did also hear that George’s change of heart was in large part due to a conversation that he had with you,” she said, looking up to meet Wade’s eyes then. “Thank you for that.”

“No problem.” Wade shrugged like it was no big deal. “I just told Tucker he didn’t exactly come outta that whole situation squeaky clean either. Holdin’ grudges never did anybody any good.”

“I’m still grateful, Wade,” Lemon insisted, patting his hand on the bar. “I mean it.”

“Yeah, well, you keep from tellin’ folks I’m gettin’ softer as I get older and we’ll call it even,” he told her with a wink.

Lemon laughed. “I don’t think I need to tell anybody for them to know that is true, Wade Kinsella,” she told him definitely. “Every person in town has seen you with that son of yours, and I might say with the good doctor too. You become any softer and I do believe you’ll collapse into a great pile of marshmallow fluff right out there in town square,” she said, grinning wide. “However, I happen to think that becoming a father and falling in love like you have might just be the two best things that ever happened to you.”

Wade hadn’t really been aware of the fact he could still blush, but he had a feeling he might just be by the end of Lemon’s little speech. Not that he could exactly argue with her assessment of the situation. He was an absolute fool for his son and his girlfriend these days, and actually, he was okay with that.

“Let me tell you somethin’, Lemon Breeland,” he told her then. “I am not ashamed to say that I have found two people who I love more than anyone or anything else in this whole damn world, and if that makes me soft or stupid or crazy enough to get a legacy nickname like my daddy used to have, then so be it. For the first time in a very, very long time, I’m just about as happy as a person can be and I’m hangin’ onto that.”

Lemon smiled all the more at the sound of those words, even seeming to tear up a little bit as she looked at him.

“I’d think you were a whole lot crazier if you did anything else,” she told him definitely. “Those two have been the making of you, Wade. My only concern is... Well, isn’t it Zoe’s plan to someday go back to New York?”

“It _was_ her plan,” Wade confirmed. “Seems she changed her mind some since then. Told me herself, she’s fixin’ to stay. Apparently, there’s enough here worth stayin’ for,” he said with a grin, knowing Lemon would understand his meaning entirely. “You know, it seems to me that if you find the kind of thing that me and Zoe have, you don’t let that slide on by. You hang onto it.”

He gave Lemon a pointed look and was sure she wasn’t so dumb she wouldn’t realise what he really meant by those words. The fact she would no longer look at him proved that she did.

“It’s not always so easy,” she muttered, focusing on sipping at her iced tea.

“No, it ain’t,” Wade agreed, plucking the near-empty glass from her hand so she couldn’t hide in it anymore, “but nothin’ worth having ever is. Now, I know how you and the mayor feel about each other, so what exactly is stoppin’ you from just gettin’ it together already? I mean, for real this time.”

Lemon shook her head, seemed to check on who may or may not be listening, then leaned in closer across the bar to speak to Wade.

“It’s not that I don’t... that I don’t care for Lavon,” she admitted, “or that I don’t believe he cares for me, but I... I have a certain standing in this town, and with George and the break-up and... There’s not much that scares me, Wade, you’ve known me long enough to know that, but this? I am just terrified.”

She meant it, every damn word, and Wade could see it clearly in her eyes and all over her face. Much like her, he made certain nobody was paying any mind then covered her hand with his on the bar.

“Lemon, you’re right, I have known you a long time, maybe too long,” he said with a smirk designed to lighten the mood, “but sweetheart, you cannot be any more scared right now than I was. You don’t think it scared me half to death, finding out I had a son? Realising I could actually love somebody as much as I love Zoe? You just gotta make the leap, Lemon, ‘cause trust me, it is absolutely worth it.”

* * *

Zoe picked up JT right from work, an easy job since his sitters that afternoon were Shula and Delma who were hanging out on one the benches in the square, proudly showing off their young charge to everyone who passed.

Texting Wade to let him know they would be at the carriage house when he came home, Zoe took JT to her place where they hung out together, playing and talking. Well, Zoe talked, JT babbled nonsense with the occasional sounds that almost seemed to be words. He definitely did say something that sounded suspiciously like ‘dada’ when she talked to him about Wade, making Zoe wonder if her boyfriend had been right all along on that. Still, it was as close to real words as JT had gotten yet and though he pulled his standing trick on a semi-regular basis, no steps had happened so far. Zoe only hoped that when it did occur, she and Wade were both there to see it.

A knock on the door got her attention and Zoe scooped up JT, carrying him on her hip as she went to see who was there.

“Is it Daddy already?” she asked him as they went. “Nope, just Uncle Lavon,” she said as she gestured for him to come in.

“ _Just_ Uncle Lavon?” her friend checked, one eyebrow raised. “I think I’m offended.”

“You know I didn’t mean it like that.” Zoe rolled her eyes, leading him into her home. “We’re always happy to see Uncle Lavon, right, buddy?” she said to JT.

The little boy did some kind of happy dance in Zoe’s arms, reaching out to Lavon who gladly received him and hugged him close.

“It is the day for bein’ happy, little man,” he said, grinning big at Zoe over JT’s head. “Lemon just came by. Seems she really wants yours truly to perform with her in Dash’s Gilbert & South-ivan extravaganza next week.”

“Wow,” said Zoe, smiling back at him. “That is... wow,” she repeated, hoping to keep the happy expression on her face even though she knew it was failing her. “So, things are finally happening with you two?”

“Pretty much,” Lavon agreed, adjusting a wriggling JT in his arms, “but I’m not buyin’ that smile on your face, Big Z. You ain’t happy for me?”

“No, of course, I am,” she insisted, making ‘no way’ gestures with her hands. “Lavon, while I’ll admit, Lemon and I are never going to be best friends or anything, if she makes you happy then I am happy for you, both of you, I promise,” she insisted.

Lavon narrowed his eyes at her. “Zoe,” he said with a tone that was at the very least big brotherly, maybe even fatherly somehow. “What is goin’ on?”

Zoe let out a big sigh. “I may have done something... a little crazy,” she confessed, fingers lacing and unlacing in front of her.

“No, no, no, no,” Lavon intoned even as he moved to put JT back down on the floor with his toys when he wriggled more than a bit to be free. “Zoe, please tell me this has nothing to do with George Tucker.”

Her eyes grew wide at that suggestion and Zoe shook her head. “It has nothing to do with George,” she said definitely. “Why would you ask me that?”

Lavon stared at her for a beat or two, almost as if he wasn’t sure if she was telling her the whole truth. When he sighed and looked away, she guessed he must’ve decided she was.

“Word is good old George got himself a motorcycle and was headed on out to New Orleans to have a real good time,” he explained, keeping an eye on JT as he crawled around, collecting up building blocks that had scattered in their last fall. “Apparently, it’s something he always wanted to do but never did, prob’ly thanks to Lemon.”

“Oh, well, that’s good.” Zoe nodded, joining the guys on the floor and hoping JT would prove distraction enough that Lavon wouldn’t ask her what crazy thing she had done - no such luck.

“Z, what did you do?”

Zoe winced at the question, even though she had invited it in the first place. A part of her really wanted to share the secret, to use Lavon as a practice run maybe, so when she came to telling Wade what happened, it wouldn’t seem so hard. It had seemed like such a good idea at the time, but now, suddenly, with Lavon staring at her, Zoe felt she had done wrong. 

Contracting with a PI to look into Carrie-Sue Smith’s life in New York, post-Bluebell, pre-Europe, it seemed like the right thing. To have the truth, for JT’s sake, if nothing else, but Zoe was becoming increasingly aware that it was none of her business and not her place to get involved.

“Zoe?” Lavon prompted. “Come on now, please don’t tell me after everything you said to me and what you promised Wade that you got some fellowship or other and you’re about to run off back to New York?”

“No,” Zoe insisted, shaking her head violently. “No, I’m not going anywhere, Lavon. I said I was staying and I am, not because I feel like I should, but just because I really, really want to,” she promised it.

“Alright then.” Lavon nodded, though he looked confused and concerned yet. “So, if it wasn’t runnin’ around with George Tucker and it’s not you decidin’ to leave us all, what is this crazy thing you did?”

Zoe took a deep breath and opened her mouth to reply. “I... I just...” she stammered. “I agreed to let Susie try out a new hairstyle on me, so next time you see me I’ll probably look pretty wild,” she said, forcing a laugh.

Lavon seemed to sigh with relief when he heard that, and then that relief turned into hearty laughter. JT picked up on the sound and soon joined in, giggling and clapping his hands madly.

Zoe laughed too, glad to have avoided sharing the real truth for now. Of course, she would actually need to get Susie to do something pretty crazy with her hair in the next couple of days. That ought to be interesting.


	28. Chapter 28

Zoe didn’t think Susie could do anything more crazy and over-the-top with her hair than the day not long after she first moved to Bluebell, the first time she ever saw Wade talk Earl down from the roof of the hardware store. Apparently, she was wrong.

“Never mind Crazy Earl,” she muttered as she stepped out into the street and winced at the sight of herself in the plate-glass front of the salon. “They’re gonna start calling me Crazy Zoe,” she said, sighing and shaking her head.

Turning around to head for home, Zoe actually screamed when she saw who appeared to be standing on the kerb staring at her. Sure, she had heard car doors and expected somebody to be there, but not this particular somebody.

“Mom?” she asked, willing to believe this was some kind of weird dream rather than reality.

“Is this how it’s always going to be now?” Candice huffed. “Every time I come to visit, you’re just going to scream at the sight of me?”

“Of course, not,” Zoe assured her as they met in the middle of the sidewalk. “I just... What are you doing here?” she asked helplessly.

Candice put her bag down on the pile of luggage already at her feet and reached to hug her daughter.

“You call me out of the blue to ask for the number of a private investigator, you won’t even tell me what you want with him,” she said, pulling back to look Zoe in the eye. “Then you add that you’re staying in Alabama, probably forever, don’t even give me a chance to react before you hang up, and that is the last I hear from you. Did you really think I was going to leave it at that?” she asked, staring hard at daughter.

“Maybe?” Zoe ventured, one hand going to the back of her head and pulling at the pins that were already uncomfortably digging into her scalp. “You didn’t need to rush all the way down here, you could’ve just called me back.”

“Yes, because you’re so good at replying to your voicemails.” Candice rolled her eyes. “Anyway, I actually wanted to see you, and judging from the state of your hair, it’s a good thing I did. This place is making you lose your mind,” she said, glancing around and seeming to shudder at the thought of being in Bluebell too long.

The last thing Zoe wanted to do was fight with her mother anymore, but she had her limits.

“Mom, I know you think New York is the best place in the world, and it’s not as if I don’t love it too,” she said definitely, “but if you’re going to be here, could you please not treat Bluebell like it’s diseased?” she urged her. “It’s... it’s my home now,” she said, shrugging in a ‘What can you do?’ kind of way.

If the look on Candice’s face was anything to go by, she was about to tell her there was an awful lot she could do and that she was going to try it too.

“Yes, you made it very clear that you’ve decided to make a home down here.” Candice nodded. “What I’d like to understand is why?”

Zoe opened her mouth to start giving an answer to that when suddenly she spotted two of her very good reasons just across the street. She hadn’t really noticed that she had started smiling uncontrollably, not until her mom pointed it out to her.

“Zoe, you look like you have a hangar in your mouth. What is the matter with you?”

“You wanted reasons why I want to stay, Mom,” she said, glancing at her. “I can give you two right now,” she said easily, waving at Wade to come on over to join them.

“Well, hey there, doc. Fancy seein’ you here, and with you lookin’ so fancy too,” he joked, kissing her hello.

“The things I do for the people in this town,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Susie’s really hard to say no to. Hey, little man,” she said to JT then, lifting him out of Wade’s arms and into her own. “There’s somebody here I’d like you to meet. John-Thomas Kinsella, this is my mom, Candice Hart. Mom, this is JT, Wade’s son. You remember Wade, right?”

“Who could forget?” said Candice, finding a smile for Wade who grinned back at her.

“Mrs Hart,” he said, nodding politely.

“Candice, please,” she insisted. “You have a beautiful son, Wade,” she told him, smiling more genuinely at the little boy then.

JT was happily playing with Zoe, laughing as she pretended to bite off his fingers. Zoe didn’t even realise she was the centre of attention until she suddenly glanced up to find both her mom and her boyfriend staring at her. It occurred to her then that her introductions probably hadn’t been as thorough as they should’ve been.

“Oh, mom, I should explain...”

“No need.” Candice waved away her concerns. “Your father... Ethan,” she corrected herself awkwardly. “He explained that you and Wade were... close these days, and that you were helping to look after the child too.”

There was something about the way she said ‘the child’ that made Zoe bristle. She noticed the tension in Wade’s expression too and didn’t like it one bit.

“His name is JT,” she told her mother with a look. “And honestly? I don’t think I could love him any more than I do, could I, baby boy?” she said to JT then, kissing his cheeks until he squealed and laughed some more.

“Well, we sure as heck couldn’t love you any more than we do, doc,” Wade promised her, reaching to take JT back into his arms, “but I guess we should be gettin’ outta your hair since your mom is here and all.”

“Thank you, Wade,” Candice said politely. “I’m sure you understand that Zoe and I have a lot to talk about,” she said with a pointed look at her daughter.

“You two ladies have fun, alright?” said Wade then, leaning in close to Zoe and whispering in her ear. “You need savin’ later, just yell. I’ll bet we’ll hear you from across the pond.”

“I might take you up on that,” she said, loud enough for her mother to hear, since Candice wouldn’t know what she was answering to. “I’ll see you later,” she told Wade then, kissing his cheek and then the top of JT’s head before the Kinsella boys walked away.

“Well, you three make an _interesting_ little family.”

Zoe bit her tongue at first then wondered why she was bothering.

“Come on, Mom,” she said then, acid in her tone that she just couldn’t help. “Parents don’t have to be biological to raise a kid. At least me and JT both know I’m not really his mom. It’d be much worse if we were keeping the truth from him, wouldn’t it?”

“Zoe...” said her mom, the name coming out like a warning somehow, but Zoe couldn’t care.

“I have Lavon’s car around the corner,” she said, moving to pick up two of Candice’s cases and leaving her to bring the rest. “Let’s go.”

* * *

“Oh, my Lord!” Lemon gasped her hand at her chest as she looked across from the back door of Lavon’s house and caught sight of Zoe exiting the car. “Well, isn’t that just an interesting choice of hairstyle for our Dr Wilkes,” she said as delicately as she could.

Lemon wasn’t usually one to pull her punches, especially not where Zoe was concerned, but lately she had come to realise that out and out insulting the good doctor in front of Lavon or Wade never ended well. Her boyfriend followed her gaze now and a deep chuckle escaped him.

“Yeah, Susie really went to town on Big Z,” he noted, the laughter dying in his throat when he saw the other woman exiting the car now, toting bags as she and Zoe went towards the carriage house. “Huh. Zoe didn’t mention her momma was coming down here to visit.”

“Maybe she didn’t know.” Lemon shrugged. “It’s not a problem, is it?”

“Could be,” Lavon considered. “Far as I know, Zoe and her mom don’t always get along so well, you know, with her lying about who Zoe’s father was and everything.”

Lemon nodded in understanding, staring at Zoe and her mom until they had completely disappeared into the house across the way. Sometimes she forgot that Zoe had been through some family trauma of her own, believing one man to be her father when in fact it was another. Of course, now Zoe bore the name of Wilkes, that was at least a constant reminder that she was Harley’s child. That might just be another reason why Lemon tried harder to be at least a little pleasant around her. After all, Harley had always been so kind to her.

Lavon put his arms around Lemon then and pulled her around to face him.

“Anyway, thought you had some place you had to run off to,” he said with a look, “or was that an excuse just to get away from me?”

“As if I would ever want to do that.” Lemon smiled, reaching up to kiss his lips. “You know how I feel about you, Lavon Hayes,” she said definitely. “This whole town oughta know after that display we put on last week,” she reminded him, colouring some at the recollection.

When Lemon asked Lavon to perform with her at Dash’s Gilbert and South-ian show, she had planned on the town at large seeing them together, considering them as a couple, just to judge what the reaction might be. When it came to the night of the show itself and they sang their love song together, she hadn’t been able to resist kissing Lavon when it was over. The crowd had erupted in cheers and applause, at least after the surprise of it all had subsided. Now it seemed Bluebell was happy enough to see Lemon and Lavon as a pair, and with George Tucker seemingly done being bent out of shape by the whole thing, it was all working out pretty well.

“Go on, now,” said Lavon then, stealing one more kiss before pushing her gently away. “You get to your Belle meeting or whatever, before I change my mind and decide to keep you here.”

“Tempting as that is,” Lemon agreed with a smile, “I really do have to go, but I’ll see you later.”

“Sounds good to me.” Lavon grinned back at her, raising his hand in a wave as she walked away.

When she was gone, his eyes drifted back to the window and the view of the carriage house. Zoe and her mother could be reconciling, which would be nice, but they could just as easy be screaming at each other before the day was done. Lavon hoped for the former, but he was bracing accordingly for the latter, just in case.

* * *

It was getting pretty late but somehow Wade just didn’t feel sleepy. He couldn’t help wondering what was going on over at the carriage house with Zoe and her mother, a part of him just wanting to go on over and find out if he were honest. He would never leave JT, not even for a minute, not even when he was sleeping soundly, and even if he didn’t have his boy to worry on, Wade had no idea what excuse he could make to go on over there and interrupt in any case. Late as it was, the ladies were probably sleeping by now... or throwing things at each other, but he couldn’t hear any crashing around or even raised voices.

Flipping off the TV that he had barely been watching anyway, and couldn’t ever hear with the volume so low, Wade ran a hand over his face and got up from the couch. He glanced out of the window as he headed towards his bed, stopping walking when he realised he could see movement around the pond. Next thing he knew there were light footsteps coming up onto his porch and Wade moved to open the door before anyone decided to knock.

“Hey,” said Zoe, smiling tiredly through the gap in the door.

“Hey, yourself, doc,” he greeted her, ushering her inside, the both of them talking in whispers, mindful of JT sleeping.

“I’m sorry, I know it’s late. I just... I really needed to see you.”

“Things not so good with your mom?” Wade checked, feeling the knot in his stomach grow when Zoe looked away.

It had occurred to him when Candice came calling that maybe she had a notion to convince her daughter she was a fool to want to stay down in Alabama when New York was waiting on her. Wade didn’t want to believe Zoe could be stolen away like that, but he couldn’t help but worry about it, even if only a little.

“She... she said she understood my attitude with Ethan. I’m not sure she totally approves of me changing my name to Wilkes, but like I told her, _she_ picked my father, not me,” said Zoe, shrugging her shoulders.

“That is true.” Wade nodded. “She, uh... You guys talk about you decidin’ to stay here?” he asked, dreading the answer but knowing he had to know it all the same.

“Surprise, surprise, she doesn’t like that either.” Zoe rolled her eyes. “But it’s like I told her, it’s my life. She already decided enough for me, lying about Ethan and Harley and everything. From now on, my choices are my own, and I choose Bluebell,” she said with determination. “I choose you, Wade. You and JT and my life here,” she told him again, presumably realising he needed that confirmation.

Pulling her into his arms, he kissed her soundly and Zoe kissed him back, so very sure in her decision and her love for Wade Kinsella. She didn’t even need to ask him if she could stay over tonight, he was already leading her towards his bed and she went willingly. Let her mother wonder where she was in the morning, Zoe didn’t care at all.

Of course, not everything was perfect. At some point she would have to tell Wade about the PI she hired, and God only knew what that guy would find out about Carrie-Sue. Still, for now, things were going pretty good and Zoe was holding onto that, as she and Wade laid down together in the dark, safe in the knowledge that they were both just exactly where they belonged.


	29. Chapter 29

Candice didn’t hang around too long, for which Zoe was eternally grateful. It was true that she did make some effort to be nice to Wade and Lavon, at least, but it was also evident that very little about Bluebell impressed her. Three days after she arrived, Zoe was helping Candice put her luggage into the back of a cab and they were saying their goodbyes for now.

“I know you think I don’t approve of anything you’re doing here,” said Candice with a look, “but it’s not true, Zoe. All I really want is for you to be happy. I’m just not so sure that this place can do that for you, not long-term.”

“Well, I’m sorry, Mom, but I happen to think you’re wrong,” Zoe insisted. “I love my job here, which I’ll admit I didn’t expect, but I do. Being a GP is so rewarding. Plus, I’ve made so many friends, there’s such a great community here, and then there’s Wade. He makes me very happy, Mom. I love him.”

Candice still didn’t look entirely convinced, glancing over her shoulder to ensure that nobody, not the cab driver or any other potentially approaching person could hear when she spoke next.

“You love Wade and yet you’re keeping secrets from him,” she reminded her daughter. “This whole private investigation business into the mother of his child?”

“I know, I know.” Zoe waved away her words with her hand. “It’s not great, but until the guy actually finds something worth sharing, I really don’t see the point. He’ll probably just say that Carrie-Sue was selfish and abandoned her kid for an acting career in Europe. It happens, unfortunately. Not everybody is cut out to be a parent.”

There was some venom in her words, even though she hadn’t especially meant to allow it to creep in. Zoe knew she should be done punishing her mother for past mistakes, but it didn’t come easy in the circumstances. It was hard to be judged by someone who was far from the ideal parent or person herself.

“For what it’s worth, Zoe, I do understand you changing your name and... and although I probably didn’t know Harley as well as I should have given what happened, I am sure he would be very proud to have you for a daughter. I know I am,” she said, smiling genuinely as she took Zoe into her arms and hugged her tight.

They parted on good terms at least, Candice climbing into the cab and waving as she was driven away to the airport. Still, Zoe couldn’t help the sigh of relief that escaped her lips the moment the car disappeared from sight. She immediately hurried over to the gate house and rapped on the door, smiling widely when her two favourite people appeared.

“Hey, look who it is, bubba,” said Wade, bouncing JT on his hip. “Aunt Zoe finally escaped from the Candice Monster,” he joked.

“Mean!” she said, swatting at him, but laughing nonetheless. “Ugh, it has been a long three days!” Zoe declared then, grabbing JT and getting herself a big hug. “I needed that,” she said definitely, holding him tight. “I have not seen enough of you and your Daddy in the last few days, you know that, JT?”

“We know it,” said Wade with a look. “Long days, really long nights,” he said, pulling Zoe closer and planting a kiss on her cheek.

“Trust me, I get it,” she said, her expression proving that she really did. 

JT soon made his presence felt again, kicking and wriggling until Zoe put him back down amongst his toys.

“Please tell me he didn’t finally walk without me being here to see it,” she said, looking to Wade for confirmation.

“Not one step,” he promised, shaking his head. “Came close a couple of times, didn’t you, kid?” he said to JT who babbled happily in response. “No more words either. I reckon he was waitin’ on you to be here before he did anything too special.”

“Good boy,” Zoe told JT, sitting down lotus style on the floor nearby so she could watch over him. “And what about you? Been doing anything fun while I was out of the loop babysitting my mom?”

“Not much.” Wade shrugged, hands shoved in his pockets. “Worked my shifts, looked after my boy here, spent three lonely nights pining for my woman,” he told her, coming to sit beside her on the floor.

“Of course, you did.” Zoe rolled her eyes.

“Hey, I’m bein’ serious” he told her definitely. “Well, maybe I had one other thing on my mind...”

When he trailed off, his eyes going to the ground, Zoe started to worry just a little. Not that she suspected Wade of doing anything he shouldn’t. She would never believe him capable of cheating or anything, but something was definitely wrong.

“Wade?” she prompted, her hand on his arm to get his attention back. “What is it?”

He seemed to contemplate something for a moment then suddenly got up and went over to the couch. The next minute he was back, lowering himself to the floor beside her again, a notebook clutched in his hand.

“I wanna show you somethin’, but you have to promise not to laugh, okay?”

“Unless that’s a joke book in your hand, you have a deal,” Zoe promised.

Wade smiled a little at her humour but still looked weirdly nervous as he handed over the book he had been holding onto so tight. He moved away then, making a big deal about JT and whatever he was doing with his plastic bricks and rings and such.

Zoe watched them playing for a moment, smiling at the sight, then let her eyes drift down to the book in her hands. On the cover, in Wade’s less-than-tidy handwriting, it said ‘Plans’ but wasn’t any more specific than that. Opening up to the first page, Zoe started to read, eyes widening with surprise when she realised what exactly it was she was looking at.

As she turned each page, Zoe grew more and more amazed. Wade didn’t do so well in school, he had told her that, but she knew he was far from stupid. Still, she hadn’t quite expected him to know where to begin in putting together real concrete plans, including some financial stuff, for a project like this. He had this habit of surprising her, something Zoe didn’t mind at all. In fact, she kind of loved it, almost as much as she loved him.

“Wade, this is... It’s amazing,” she said, looking over at him. “Your own bar? I didn’t even know you wanted that.”

“Neither did I, exactly,” Wade admitted, looking strangely shy as he glanced back at her from his place laid out on the floor by JT and his pile of toys. “Thing of it is, if I’m gonna raise my boy here, it’s gonna take more cash than I make just tending bar. Besides, you showed me how great it can be to have a career, or at least a real ambition and all. Sure, you’re not doing your supersonic space surgeon thing anymore, but you worked real hard to get all your doctorin’ skills. I couldn’t ever do something as fancy as that, but I know bars. I know drinks and I know people, I guess. I figure the best I can do for JT and even for myself is try to build something that’s really mine, that’s really ours,” he said, reaching out to smooth his son’s hair.

“Wade, that is just... it’s incredible,” said Zoe, laughing at herself when she was forced to wipe a tear from her cheek.

“Didn’t mean to make you cry, doc,” Wade told her honestly. “Like I said, I was mostly hopin’ you didn’t just go ahead and laugh.”

“I would never do that,” she promised him. “Wade, come on, nobody could ever doubt how much you want to do what’s best for JT. You have more than proven what a great father and a great man you are. The town gave you the frickin’ MOTY award for goodness sake!” she reminded him with a genuine smile. “And I personally could not love you more. I think this is a great idea,” she said gesturing with the notebook in her hand. “If there’s anything I can do to help get this thing off the ground, tell me, I’ll do it.”

“Funny you should say that, doc,” said Wade then, taking back his notebook of plans and staring at it even as he continued, “I, uh... Well, you seen the signs goin’ up in town about the Bluebell Battle?”

“Sure.” Zoe nodded. “Lavon told me a little about it. Some race with all these tasks and trials. Another of Bluebell’s quirky events, I guess.”

“It is that,” Wade agreed, “but it’s also a good way to make $5,000 real fast,” he explained, finally looking up at her again. “I was thinkin’, with the right partner, I could probably win that thing. So, what do you say, doc?”

“Me?” she asked, shaking her head. “I don’t... Well, Wade, I would love to help you out, but I’m not sure I’m the right person for that.”

“Baby, you’re exactly the person,” he promised her. “I got a certain set of skills and so do you. Between us, we’d cover just about every angle.”

Zoe gave his words due consideration and then saw the pleading look in his eyes. She knew that even if they failed, they could at least give it their best shot, and she had meant what she said about helping Wade in whatever way she could to make his plans for the bar come to fruition.

“Okay,” she said then, nodding her head. “Yes, Wade, I’ll be your partner in the Bluebell Battle.”

He looked so ridiculously thrilled when she said it, then suddenly he leapt up to grab at her, lifting Zoe clean off her feet and spinning her around and around. She was laughing even as she yelled for him to put her down. He didn’t seem willing at first until she physically smacked him and made sure she sounded more serious.

“Wade, please. Look!” she said urgently.

He finally set her back on her feet and Zoe pointed towards JT precariously balanced on his own feet, with only one tentative hand holding onto the back of the couch.

“Oh my God!” Zoe gasped as JT’s fingers slid away and he carefully put one foot in front of the other.

“Hey, come on, buddy,” Wade urged him, crouching down to JT’s level.

The little boy grinned so big and took two more toddling steps before he pitched forward. Wade caught him easily, taking him into his arms for the biggest hug.

“You are the smartest kid, you know that, JT?” he told him.

“When you said he was waiting for me to be here to see him do that, I thought you were kidding,” said Zoe, crouching down beside Wade, her hand at JT’s head.

“That’s not somethin’ I’d kid about, doc,” Wade told her easily. “You wouldn’t go showin’ off that way without Aunt Zoe here to see it, huh, bubba?” he said, smiling at JT.

The little boy reached out one arm to grab at Zoe, trying to hug her and Wade both. It was almost too sweet to bear. Zoe was only grateful that she was there today, that she hadn’t wasted a moment coming straight over here at her earliest opportunity, or she might’ve missed out on all this.

A knock on the door, brought Zoe and Wade out of their little joyful family bubble and it was her that got up to answer it, while Wade continued to tell a giggling JT just how amazing he was.

“Hi,” said Zoe to the blonde on the porch that she didn’t recognise at first, then it clicked. “Oh, Tansy, right?”

“Right.” Tansy nodded her head. “Is Wade around?”

“Sure, come on in.” Zoe ushered her inside then turned to follow.

Since Tansy had stopped walking after all of two paces, Zoe ran right into her back. She moved to go around Tansy then and couldn’t help but laugh at the landed fish expression she was wearing.

“Yes, that is Wade holding a baby,” Zoe confirmed.

“Well, hey, Tans,” said Wade himself, finally realising they had company and who that company was. “This is a surprise.”

“You ain’t kiddin’,” she said, shaking her head. “Where did you...? I mean, you two aren’t...?” she said gesturing between Wade and Zoe.

“Actually, we are,” Zoe told her, “but we weren’t. I mean, JT is Wade’s son from way before I was here. It’s kind of a long story,” she realised then as she looked to Wade to help her out.

“You find a place to park yourself, Tans. I just gotta change my boy here and then we’ll give you the rundown on everything you missed these past few months.”

“Yeah, I think I’d appreciate that.” Tansy nodded, finding herself a seat on the couch.

Zoe moved over to where Wade was getting JT laid down on the changing table and spoke in a low voice.

“You want me to go, leave you two to talk? I mean, she’s your ex-wife and...”

“Emphasis on the ex, doc,” said Wade definitely. “Zoe, you have some place you need to be, that’s all fine with me, but don’t run out on account o’ Tansy. She wants to hear the whole tale about JT and how my life has changed these past few months. You’re a big part o’ that.”

The way he said it made her smile so much her face ached, but Zoe couldn’t mind at all.

“Then I guess I’ll stay.”


End file.
